Who’s Building Your Product

You’ll likely need to engage a number of internal and external partners to complete a digital product. These partners can help with everything from research and ideation, to design and development, to product evaluation. The City has internal teams specializing in different parts of the process, and you can contract external vendors to help with others.

Internal

Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT)

DoITT offers expertise and assistance across the entire product design and development process. Services include (and exceed) the following:

  • Digital design and development
  • UX strategy and design
  • Hosting
  • Project management
  • Project management methodologies (Agile, Hybrid, etc.)
  • Data exchange
  • Cybersecurity
  • Software licenses
  • Citywide IT contracts

Find DoITT’s service catalog on CityShare to see the full range of topics they can help with.

When you’re ready to work with DoITT, submit a project service request via the Citywide Service Desk and someone will contact you within five days. You can also reach out to your Agency Relationship Manager to ask questions or follow up.

 

DoITT’s NYC Gov Lab & Studio

The NYC Gov Lab & Studio is DoITT’s in-house team focused on web and new media, business analysis, solutions design, quality assurance (QA), UX and human-centered design. They can work with you to design, develop and maintain your website. If you have designers or developers on staff, DoITT can work with them to fill in the gaps.

Example

Four illustrated people with thought bubbles above heads featuring a house, money and more
NYC Open Data
To see if the NYC Gov Lab & Studio is the right partner for you, reach out to the NYC Digital Blueprint team and ask to be put in touch.

Service Design Studio

The Service Design Studio at the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity helps further the City’s use of human-centered design methods. The Studio partners with agencies to engage with residents and those who deliver services so that their insights can shape new and existing programs. The Studio team is versed in design tools, experienced in developing in-person and digital services, and focused on addressing poverty-related challenges.

The Studio developed the Civic Service Design Tools + Tactics—an introduction to service design for public servants, and a set of practical ways to include design methods in your work.

Example

Access NYC Logo
ACCESS NYC
The Service Design Studio hosts office hours to answer questions and provide service design support. Get in touch to discuss how you can work together.

NYC Behavioral Design Team

The Mayor’s Office of Operations partnered with ideas42 to launch the NYC Behavioral Design Team. This team works with City agencies to apply behavioral insights to program and service design. Learn more and find contact information at the ideas42 website.

External

Vendors

You may choose to work with an outside vendor to design and build your site. Any outside projects must still adhere to WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards and translation laws, be mobile-responsive, go through the security process, and follow the other requirements on this site.

Examples

A screenshot of the NYC Well graphic which shows contact information for the program
ThriveNYC
Vendor: Bureau Blank
Growing Up NYC logo appearing next to girl with pink apron and paint bottle in her hand
Growing Up NYC
Vendor: Blue State Digital
The easiest and quickest way to get a design or development vendor on board is to do a micropurchase for services under a certain dollar amount (depending on your agency). Contact your procurement representative to learn more about this process.

Government x Design Master Contract

The Government x Design Master Contract (GxD) is a forthcoming procurement tool that will streamline the process for hiring and working with outside design firms.

DoITT, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, released a Request for Proposals (RFP) calling for submissions showing expertise in digital design, communication design, and/or service design. Master Contracts will be awarded to designers or firms for each discipline as well as those offering services in all three categories.

Stay tuned for updates about this contract.