Taking Flight: The Power of Pursuing a Shared Vision

In 1903, on a windswept beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers achieved the first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight—a feat that set the stage for modern aviation. The lasting legacy of this breakthrough was not just a new piece of technology; these early aviators showed the world the power of pursuing a shared vision with perseverance and grit until it becomes a tangible reality.?

At Coforma, we channel the same spirit of innovation and teamwork that propelled the Wright brothers into the work we do supporting our government, nonprofit, and commercial partners and the communities they serve. In this issue, we highlight how our collective efforts are launching transformative solutions that help our clients improve digital services and technology products for the individuals and communities they serve.?

[co]designing Progress

In digital services and civic tech, progress is often incremental, achieved one improved process or service at a time. We are honored by each opportunity to work alongside dedicated partners to bring about their visions and contribute to work that undeniably improves lives.?

Advancing Veteran Services: Coforma Awarded VA Benefits Contract

More than 18 million Veterans live in the United States, representing approximately six percent of our country’s adult population. As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to modernize its benefits systems and processes, we are honored to share that Team Coforma has been awarded a prime contract with VA to support the VA.gov Product Teams—Benefits Tools Crew. This effort focuses on improving Veterans’ experiences by streamlining the claims and appeals processes, providing increased transparency, and facilitating easier benefits management.?

The $4.6M Benefits Tools Crew contract is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-aside contract on VA’s Customer Experience, DevOps, Agile Releases (CEDAR) IDIQ. We will collaborate closely with VA and our subcontractor partner, Ad Hoc LLC, to deliver solutions that build Veterans’ trust in a system that can often feel overwhelming.

By integrating user-centered design and agile methodologies, we aim to create a more intuitive and accessible digital experience that will help Veterans navigate options and take action on their claims with confidence. Our deep expertise in the VA environment enables us to design with precision, ensuring the solutions we develop are not only effective but also truly aligned with Veterans’ needs.?

Driving Innovation in Healthcare: Health+ Long COVID Healthathon

Addressing a medical and social issue as complex as Long COVID is a collective undertaking. That’s why Coforma is facilitating a solution-accelerator event—modeled after hackathons—to help address one of today’s most pressing health challenges.?

The Health+ Long COVID Healthathon, organized in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) , is mobilizing innovators, health professionals, and community members to think creatively and propose projects that can be turned into practical solutions for those affected by Long COVID.?

HHS is committed to supporting the best ideas, offering up to $25,000 in prizes distributed among the winning teams. Winners will be announced at a live virtual event on June 10, 2024. We hope to see you there! In the meantime, visit https://longcovid.crowdicity.com/ to keep up with the latest Healthathon news and announcements.

Empowering Job Seekers: My Career NJ Launch

In March, the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development Governor's Office of Innovation announced a new career development platform that will support job seekers throughout the state.?

My Career NJ is an interactive digital resource hub where New Jerseyans can search for job opportunities, learn what’s needed to thrive in those careers, and access job training resources to transition into them.?

We’re honored to have worked alongside our Fearless partners to build and improve digital experiences that support job seekers, the economy, and the public good.

[co]creating Culture

Our culture deeply impacts the work we do by setting the tone for our interactions with each other and our external partners. We make intentional choices about how we recruit and hire, the benefits we provide, our commitment to professional development, and more to demonstrate how we value our employees who, in turn, reflect our commitments to respect, equity, collaboration, and community investment.?

Coforma Wins Special Recognition Award at SECAF Gala

A finalist for the Government Contractor Award of Excellence, Coforma was presented with a special award at the Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum ( SECAF ) annual gala on May 2. This Special Recognition Award acknowledged our commitment to our employees, clients, Veterans, and the government contracting small business community and is given to a company that demonstrates the qualities evaluated for across all award categories.

Eduardo F. O. , CEO, accepted the award citing colleagues, partners, Veteran communities, and the greater business community as success factors. We’re delighted to have been selected as a finalist for the SECAF Government Contractor Award of Excellence and thrilled to have been honored in this unique way. Congratulations to all of the other finalists and winners!

Reflecting on Equal Pay Day

March 12 marked Equal Pay Day, a day that brings attention to the ongoing efforts required to achieve wage equality. Coforma is honored to contribute to narrowing the wage gap by implementing clear and equitable pay practices. This includes posting salary ranges in all our job listings and maintaining a transparent pay model. These actions help us foster an environment where every team member is valued and has access to the same opportunities for growth and advancement.

Coforma Volunteer Day on May 6

Each year, Coforma offers Cofolx the chance to spend one work day volunteering.? This is an opportunity for team members to step away from the screen and into the community, lending their time and skills to organizations and causes that resonate with them personally. Whether it’s cleaning up local parks, contributing to food banks, or assisting at animal shelters, our employees are empowered to make a tangible impact.

“I plan to spend the day supporting an organization dedicated to improving the healthcare experience for nonverbal folks,” shares Content Writer and Editor, Amanda Harr . “This community is close to my heart, and it’s nice to have a day to focus on advocacy work.”

If Coforma sounds like a workplace you’d thrive in, we invite you to learn more about us by visiting our website.

[co]authoring Tomorrow

Our impact extends beyond the products and services we create. The communities we show up in to share our experiences and expertise and the way we navigate complex stakeholder ecosystems? are often just as important as the work we do. The following article and conference participation preview are two examples of how we’re working beyond the contract terms to positively impact our space.?

Navigating Multi-Stakeholder Environments

“Always keep the project’s mission in mind while working on it. It helps simplify decision-making, strengthens collaboration, and encourages conviviality.” —Arden Klemmer, Senior Principal Product Designer

Aligning diverse perspectives, prioritizing goals, and utilizing the strengths of various organizations to achieve success requires a distinctive approach to project and program management. Through our work supporting government agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services , U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs , U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) , and others, we’ve gained insight into what it takes to manage contracts and relationships successfully in a complex environment.?

In a recently published article, Coforma subject matter experts shared advice for managing the challenges of working on multi-stakeholder government contracts, including orienting themselves on new projects, balancing diverse stakeholder needs and priorities, communicating effectively, and uniting partners around a shared mission.

Connect with Us at the Code for America Summit

A small cohort of Cofolx are headed to Oakland in late May for the 2024 Code for America Summit.? We also have several people from our team presenting at this year’s conference. Eva Floyd , Daniela Jones , and Betsy Ramaccia , all from our design research team, will lead a session titled “Designing and conducting culturally-inclusive, community-based, participatory research.” Additionally, Britt B. is giving a lightning talk titled “Adopting a service design mindset for content success.”

We look forward to opportunities like this one, where we hear from leaders in the civic tech field about the ethical use of emerging technologies and processes, and engage in conversations about how to continue to advance the work we’re all doing. We’d love to connect with you if you’re attending!?

If something in this newsletter has piqued your interest or you have challenges we could partner with you to solve, please email us at [email protected]. Let’s continue to make things that matter. Together.