How to plant a seed and let it bloom: The connection gardening has to Congress, technology, and other takeaways from author Jennifer Pahlka

The House Chiefs of Staff Association (HCOSA) and the Modernization Staff Association (MSA) hosted a discussion with author Jennifer Pahlka this month to talk about her new book "Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better" that was released early this summer. The discussion was moderated by Brad Fitch, President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF).

Jennifer Pahlka is the founder of Code for America, an author and technology advisor with a range of experience working in the U.S government. Before writing her book "Recording America," Jennifer Pahlka founded the organization Code for America, which is a non-profit organization that works with people within and outside of the government to build technology to help implement policies that are used to address different social issues like unemployment, housing, education, etc.

In addition, Pahlka served as the U.S Deputy Chief of Technology Officer from 2013-2014 under President Obama's administration. She was also a part of the Defense and Innovation Board under two U.S presidents. Her work in government continued as she later became the Co-founder of the United States Digital Response during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout her career Pahlka has used her knowledge in the tech field to create digital tools that help average Americans have access to resources that are important to their day-to-day lives.

In a piece published in The New York Times, journalist Ezra Klein said, "Recoding America" is "the book I wish every policymaker would read." Pahlka unsparingly dissects what's wrong with American government decision-making and processes for technology projects, and offers her ideas and wisdom on how governments at every level can improve.

During her Q&A, Pahlka said that people often think of the legislative branch as "gardeners." When we think of gardeners the first thing that comes to mind is their responsibility for planting and watering the seeds in a garden. Very often we disregard the attention that gardeners give to the soil. Just like Pahlka said on Tuesday, "We cannot continue to plant these seeds if we do not tend the soil."

When asked why it was important for her to write this book Pahlka said, "There's a lack of understanding for what needs to change." Even though she was apprehensive about what writing a book like this would mean and realized that some parts of her book could be referred to as "depressing," Pahlka felt the book was necessary and hopes that readers take the time to engage with some of its recommendations while holding onto some of the hope that they have left.

When thinking about ways our government could improve, Pahlka discussed the importance of and difference between having a product manager and project management. She went on to define product manager as "deciding what to do in the first place." Meanwhile project management was "the art of getting things done."

An example she used when talking about a situation that lacked project management came from her time working under Obama's administration when the HealthCare.gov website was launched. The process of that launch had many difficulties because everyone included in that process "was trying to get everything done at once." According to Pahlka, what would have been helpful before HealthCare.gov launched was:

• Having someone in the tech field be a part of drafting the original Affordable Care Act in order to outline the goals and processes related to the website launch.
• Also having someone at the table who understands how the law would be implemented.

Pahlka's key takeaways:

• Product management and project management being incorporated in big and small projects can make a huge difference in how the policy is implemented.
• The importance of diversifying Congress. Yes, it is important to have people be passionate about policy and law, but when incorporating those legislation on a fast-pacing technological environment it is helpful to have people in the legislative field that are just as passionate about technology as they are about policy.

Lastly, Pahlka outlined the need to create more trust between the legislative and executive branches. Going back to her analogy of "tending the soil, Pahlka expresses the need for the legislative and executive branch to improve their relationship. The legislative branch is known for planting the seeds to birth new policies, but without having a system of accountability for checking back in when they pass over the laws to the executive branch not only leads to major miscommunication, but often results in creating issues that take longer to resolve. How can these two branches of government work together to maintain their promises to the American people in these unprecedented times? This is a critical question Pahlka poses to Congressional staff.

This post was written by Marrla Ferrer, research assistant at the Congressional Management Foundation. Originally from Haiti and raised in Trenton, NJ, Marrla is a senior at Gettysburg College, majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Political Science. From her involvement on campus and personal experiences Marrla developed a passion for exploring intersectional issues and policy in many of her written pieces. Marrla's LinkedIn