Making Government Work for People: Putting Life Experiences at the Center of Policy and Service Delivery

This IBM Center for The Business of Government report examines how agencies can organize services around people’s life experiences rather than bureaucratic boundaries. Written for government leaders and service delivery teams, it reviews a federal initiative involving five life experiences, 36 agencies, and 34 states and territories.

Readers will learn how agencies can coordinate services and why reforms struggle to last. The initiative gathered more than 500 people’s stories, but unclear ownership, fragmented data, and inconsistent funding limited progress. Examples include Medicaid renewal changes and newborn supply kits. Recommendations address service ownership, shared infrastructure, and congressional engagement. As the IBM Center for The Business of Government report states, “No one owns the end-to-end customer experience.”