Intelliworx has worked with 39 different government agencies over the years to modernize thousands of government forms, improve data collection, and the associated business processes
by Intelliworx
The first step in many government processes often requires filling out a form. In many cases, a form is the beginning of an application process – an application for benefits, permits, approval, scholarships, or licensing. The form itself is nothing more than a means to collect data for a future decision.
Getting things right is important because the decision, as in the case of government entitlements, can be life-changing. If the first step in a process is broken, the problem will cascade causing much bigger problems later. The recent modernization of the FASFA form is a good illustration of what can go wrong.
This is just one example, however, and while it’s received a lot of attention, there are many examples of government modernization efforts that have gone well. In fact, Intelliworx has worked with 39 government agencies to modernize their forms and automate data collection, and related business processes.
Below are some of the less well-known but more interesting benefits government agencies see when they use our Application Management System.
1. Transforming static forms into an “intelligent interview”
Anyone who’s filed taxes knows this process can get complicated. These forms can span several pages which are governed by different rules and associated worksheets. Just looking at the form can feel overwhelming for anyone who doesn’t do it every day. That’s why many tax-filing citizens seek professional help to file their taxes.
Yet the software industry has made this much easier. They took the static IRS Form 1040 and turned it into an “intelligent interview.” These “interviews” walk tax filers through the process one step at a time, breaking down a complicated and lengthy process into simple step-by-step instructions. Doing so comes with a range of benefits, ensuring the forms are complete and accurate.
When using the software in subsequent years, it will retrieve the basic data, like your name and address, so you don’t have to retype it every year. It can also pull in additional information automatically, such as any refund issued last year, or income reported by an employer on a W2.
We’ve taken this same technology concept – the best practice of intelligent interviews – and applied it across government forms and their processes. Today, dozens of federal agencies are using our solutions to manage everything from building permits to federal entitlement applicants to scholarship programs.
2. Helping stakeholders determine the right form to complete
The government has created many different forms which all serve diverse purposes. One of our customers, a large federal agency, has upwards of 11,000 different forms, supporting a wide range of applications and processes for the use of federal land: building permits, easements, drilling, mining, and protected environment, for example.
The challenge is knowing which form is the right one to complete for any given process. The last thing anyone wants to do is spend time filling out a form only to find out when they are done it was the wrong one. Intelliworx solves this in two ways.
First, it simply looks at the account data available and presents a determination.
For example, it could potentially be used to show a veteran the benefits for which they are eligible – and suggest the proper forms to apply for a mortgage or to use educational benefits. So, rather than leaving it up to the veteran to figure it out, the system looks at the available data, showing what they are eligible for and how to apply.
The second way is by applying the intelligent interview method. The system can ask a few simple questions which will narrow down the list of forms and point the applicant in the right direction.
For example, consider a homebuilder who wants to submit an application for easement across federal government property for a new construction job. Based upon the basic data and an extra set of follow-up questions – using the same intelligent interview technique described above – Intelliworx will show them what forms they need to complete. This allows them to complete the forms online, submitted to the right authority automatically, and track progress.
3. Customizing workflows for review and approval
Most government forms that are completed and submitted require a process of review and approval. Often this is a multi-step process where initial reviews might validate the accuracy, and completeness of a form – and later stages evaluate the merits. A scholarship application will often need a step to verify eligibility.
How a completed form moves through that process – the orchestration of activity between stakeholders – is called workflow. Since different forms will have a review and approval process that varies widely, government agencies need to be able to customize this workflow.
Intelliworx enables you to customize the workflow easily and you don’t need technical experience. This is because we map out the whole process first – what we call a master workflow’ – which enables users to tailor the workflow to their specific needs.
A clear review and approval process also provides transparency and accountability. You can see where the bottlenecks exist and hold stakeholders accountable for finishing their portion of the review in a timely fashion.
4. Supporting the “need to know” information during the review
Government forms can easily have dozens if not hundreds of data fields. Examples of data fields can range from your name and the date of the application to text boxes for writing open-ended answers. Some of these fields can contain sensitive data that needs to be protected or there may be certain fields that are more important at a given stage of review than others.
For this reason, the application management software we develop supports “need to know.” Let’s say there are three reviewers for a federal land easement permit, the software can show each reviewer just those sections of the form relevant to their work.
Another large federal agency we work with uses this software to manage the applications for medical degree scholarships designed to incentivize healthcare providers to take hard-to-fill roles in rural locations. Applicants are required to submit several different essays that are reviewed by an independent panel of experts. The product shows only the relevant essay part of the application to the panel while shielding any Personal Identifiable Information (PII).
The criteria for showing what content within a form to whom and at what time can be customized too. For example, the thresholds can be set by the application type, data classification, or due date, among other options.
5. Facilitating data sharing and integration
Intelliworx is a cloud-based (and FedRAMP-authorized) Software as a Service product. The cloud brings several technology standards that make integration easy. Importantly, our integration is bi-directional, so government agencies can move data in or out of their systems as they need.
Some agencies use Intelliworx simply as a means of data collection. They may have a system of record in place already, but they want to modernize the user interface. In these cases, they use our system to collect the data and leverage the integration to ship the data collected to their system of record for processing.
6. Understanding the status of applications across an ecosystem
There’s a lot of Congressional interest in telework presently. Many agencies are still figuring out the best policy even as administrators are being called to testify before a committee. Some seemingly struggle to answer introductory questions such as, how many employees work remotely and how often.
Intelliworx can provide a significant level of detail easily for reviewers and senior staff. For any given application process, whether it’s a civil servant applying for telework or a citizen applying for benefits, the system will give you an accurate breakdown of the following:
- The number of applications pending;
- The number of applications submitted;
- The number of applications currently in review (and at what stage);
- The number of applications approved;
- The number of applications denied; and
- The number of applications appealed.
The numbers are displayed in a dashboard-style view and can be customized as needed. Since scholarship applications have deadlines, an administrator might want to see these numbers broken out by time, such as in the last 30, 60, or 90 days. This type of tracking gives government agencies command of the details to prove success, lobby for resources, or simply demonstrate output and justify costs.
7. Retaining data and presenting audit trails
Hanging onto old or unnecessary data is a security risk. That’s why the government sets data retention policies. These data retention policies can vary widely. For example, some processes require the data to be purged within 90 days, while others may be retained for years.
Intelliworx supports customizable data retention. Rules and deadlines can be modified to fit virtually any policy. The system can be configured to purge data automatically or to send out an email reminder to an administrator to review data for deletion.
Further, the system is also fully auditable. The system can produce a record of activity if a supervisor, appeals board, inspector general (IG), law enforcement or even Congress wants to see who was involved in a process, when they were involved and what actions they took.
* * *
See it for yourself! We’d welcome the opportunity to show you how we can help modernize your agencies. Contact us for a no-obligation online demo.
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:
The 7 common challenges digitizing federal application processes solves
