Building a consulting practice to drive digital transformation across government
Summary
Federal agencies needed help adopting modern digital practices, but lacked internal capacity and practical models for change. We founded and scaled 18F Consulting — a multidisciplinary consulting practice within GSA — to deliver hands-on transformation, enabling agencies to build digital capability while improving how government delivers technology.
The challenge
Agencies across government were under pressure to modernize how they delivered digital services, but most lacked the internal capability, operating models, and talent needed to do so effectively.
Digital transformation in government requires more than new technology — it demands changes in culture, practices, procurement, and team structure. However, there was no established model within government for how to institutionalize these changes at scale.
The challenge was not just delivering better digital services, but building a sustainable capability within agencies to continue that work independently.
The solution
We founded and built 18F Consulting as a new model for delivering digital transformation inside government.
Rather than attempting to import “Silicon Valley culture” wholesale, we designed an approach that combined modern digital practices with the expertise of career civil servants and federal contractors. This enabled agencies to adopt new ways of working in a way that fit their context.
Over the course of a year, we:
- Recruited and hired multidisciplinary teams across design, product, engineering, data, policy, and acquisition using the Schedule A(r) hiring authority
- Established a delivery model focused on hands-on collaboration, where teams worked directly alongside agency partners
- Introduced modern practices such as agile delivery, product management, and user-centered design
- Coached agency teams to build internal capability while delivering real projects
This approach ensured that transformation was not just delivered, but embedded — leaving agencies better equipped to sustain progress over time.
The results
- Hired more than 40 multidisciplinary experts across design, product, engineering, data, policy, and acquisition
- Delivered nearly 45 projects for federal, state, and local agencies
- Achieved strong client satisfaction (GAO survey: 23 of 26 respondents were very or moderately satisfied)
- Influenced more than $1 billion in IT acquisition decisions
- Helped agencies avoid hundreds of millions in unnecessary technology acquisition costs
- Catalyzed the creation of agency-specific digital teams modeled after 18F Consulting
- Produced and shared more than 35 public resources to scale knowledge across government
- Expanded into multiple new organizations within GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, including Office of Acquisitions, 18F Transformation, and 18F Learn