CODE PA — which was created through an executive order from Gov. Josh Shapiro — issued what is essentially a progress report this week, detailing much of what the department has done since it was formed. In addition to the leadership team and website modernization noted above, CODE PA also has a longer list of other accomplishments.
This list includes partnering on a number of cross-agency projects. One of these is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as well as IT on environmental permitting modernization. In a similar vein, CODE PA worked with the office of transportation on a refund portal for permits, license and certificates. Finally, in a forward-looking item, the report notes that CODE PA has "drive[n] the charge" for a consistent and secure ID authentication and verification login throughout Pennsylvania's online services.
"CODE PA will partner with security and technology teams at the state to drive the transformation across every agency — ensuring Pennsylvanians will only need one set of login credentials," the report's authors wrote.
If CODE PA's mission and projects seem familiar, this is perhaps because it was created in close collaboration with a number of pillars of the current public-sector technology landscape. The agency was informed by a list of groups and institutions that includes the U.S. Digital Service, 18F, the U.S. Digital Response, San Francisco Digital Services, the Colorado Digital Service and Georgetown University's Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, among others.
As with the group's listed above, the overarching goal of CODE PA is to simply provide a better online experience for residents who interact digitally with government.
CODE PA is lead by Executive Director Bryanna Pardoe. The group expects to continue expanding its work, and as such, it is currently hiring for several roles. Interested parties can find those job postings now via CODE PA's website.
