Nava

We're #hiring for several positions at Nava including this gem! We're looking for a seasoned professional in human-centered design, people management, and team leadership. Check out the role for more details: https://lnkd.in/g-ieMSE6

Cheers to our partner, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, for hosting the Mid-Year Industry Happy Hour event! Nick Rhodes, Nava Director of Client Solutions, and Alex Santantonio, Nava Program Director of FedCiv Portfolio, enjoyed exchanging ideas with government and private sector leaders. Stepping out of the typical office space and into an immersive networking environment brings opportunities for connections and brainstorming. Thanks to VA for bringing the right people together.

Did you miss our recent Nava Labs #DemoDay? See our latest prototype: a voice #AI tool to reduce caseworker documentation burden. Plus, other work in progress from Nava Labs, including our new Technologist-in-Residence team. Cheers to Diana Griffin, Ryan Hansz, and Greg Jordan-Detamore on a great presentation: https://lnkd.in/gyYhiFQ5

Hi all, Nava’s state growth team is hiring! It is a chaotic time, but I’m deeply grateful for the tenacity, heart, and purpose our growth teams have shown day in and day out. There are unacceptable failures within government, big promises being made in legislation that are threatened in implementation, and a deep need for building state capacity and state effectiveness in the longterm. These are the problems we care about at Nava, and I’d love to be connected with people who care deeply about how some of our most critical programs like Medicaid, SNAP, unemployment insurance, and paid leave are implemented at the state level. The team is sharp, building on a decade of broad and deep delivery outcomes, and we’re not afraid of hard competition towards our public benefit mission as an organization. Getting to work with amazing leaders like David Helene, Zenit Chughtai , Randy Hart towards these big swings is really a dream. Please share with your networks, and refer folks to me that we should be chatting with: https://lnkd.in/gQC4sNBK

David D'Silva explains the “strangler fig” pattern without a line of code by using a restaurant metaphor: a good waiter keeps your experience seamless while everything changes behind the scenes. In modernization, that waiter is the facade — a steady front door that lets teams replace an aging system piece by piece while the people using it never feel the disruption. The full interview is below. Big thanks to Ryan Koch and Civic Tech Chat for this one: https://lnkd.in/gZGsVgdq What's the best metaphor you've used to explain your work?

Most government systems aren't broken. They're locked. That's the idea behind a "legacy lockpick." David D'Silva breaks it down: a reusable tool, playbook, or pattern that helps a team move out of a legacy system faster and with less risk. The goal isn't to rip everything out — old systems hold years of real value. But when they're brittle or tangled in vendor lock-in, that value's hard to reach. A lockpick is how you get to it without breaking what works. Full episode with Ryan Koch and Civic Tech Chat: https://lnkd.in/gZGsVgdq What's a system you'd love to unlock?

A government technology project can go two ways: it can outlast the contract that built it, or the vendor parachutes in and leaves behind a void for agencies to maintain. We've seen both. Here's why we think building internal capacity within an agency matters as much as building the technology itself. When a vendor leaves without setting up government partners for success, public servants are forced to work overtime just to keep things running. Small issues turn into service delivery problems for the people who depend on these programs — often the people with the fewest other options. We've also seen the alternative. When agency staff and vendors collaborate from the beginning, something shifts. The agency can adapt as needs change, long after our contract ends. Agency staff bring years of frontline expertise we don't have. The programs we've helped build capacity around have consistently ended up stronger because of that exchange, not in spite of it. Government programs serve people for years, sometimes decades. The vendors involved should build for that timeline, not just the length of a contract. Here’s how we intentionally build internal capacity to promote the longevity and success of government services: https://lnkd.in/gbDECAkE

We’re pleased to welcome Nava PBC as an industry member of the City Innovation Network (CIN). Nava PBC is a public benefit corporation that partners with government agencies to design, build and improve digital public services. Its work focuses on helping public sector organisations modernise technology systems, improve service delivery and create more accessible, user-centred experiences for residents. “Cities are increasingly focused on improving the accessibility and effectiveness of digital public services. Nava PBC's experience in this area will bring a valuable perspective to discussions across the City Innovation Network.” – Willem Fast, Chief Commercial Officer, City Innovation Network. “Meaningful innovation happens when governments, industry, and communities come together around a shared mission. We look forward to collaborating with leaders across the City Innovation Network to strengthen partnerships, exchange ideas, and advance digital services that improve outcomes for residents.“ – Jonathon Cummings, Alliance Manager, Nava. We look forward to working with Nava PBC and learning from their experience helping public sector organisations design and deliver more effective digital services. #CityInnovationNetwork #CityInnovation #UrbanInnovation #CIN  

Staying informed in our industry doesn’t have to mean managing dozens of open tabs! Our monthly newsletter brings it together in one place: open roles on our team, events worth your time, and news from across the civic tech community. Whether you're weighing a move into the space or just want to keep a pulse on the field, it's an easy way to stay connected. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gwDaehs6

We're back from NACo's Annual Conference & Expo with one big takeaway: real excitement about open source. Genevieve Gaudet, who repped Nava, kept hearing the same thing — counties want tools they can trust, adapt, and build on, not another black box. That's exactly what our open source work is for: practical tools for frontline staff, built in the open. If your team's exploring open source for public service delivery, let us know. https://lnkd.in/efcVGJdG