Original Broadcast Date: 10/25/2026
Sponsored by Maximus
Federal agencies are investing in new technologies to improve customer experience, and Evan Davis says the greatest opportunity may come from changing when government provides assistance.
Instead of waiting for people to encounter problems or ask questions, agencies could use data to anticipate their needs.
Davis, Executive Managing Director at Maximus, joins Fed Gov Today to explain how data can help federal organizations modernize services and move toward a more proactive customer experience.
He says both government and the private sector are navigating major changes in how they serve customers.
For federal agencies, those changes create an opportunity to consolidate services and make interactions with government more efficient.
Davis describes that evolution through three stages: reactive, interactive, and proactive care.
Davis says reactive care represents an important starting point for federal modernization.
At this stage, agencies focus on answering questions from customers accurately and efficiently.
That may sound straightforward, but Davis notes that delivering current, reliable information across an organization as large as the federal government is a significant challenge.
The launch of America.gov represents an important step in that direction.
A unified platform can help people navigate information and services without requiring them to understand the structure of every federal agency.
Davis sees that capability as a foundation for more advanced interactions.
Once agencies can consistently respond to questions, they can begin helping customers complete tasks.
The second stage of modernization involves interactive customer service.
Instead of simply providing information, government systems can help people take action.
Davis points to several examples of what that experience could look like.
Americans could receive assistance completing forms, requesting status updates, applying for benefits, or finding information about tax refunds.
These capabilities create opportunities to make government services more accessible and reduce the effort required from customers.
But Davis says the transition from reactive to interactive services is only part of the larger opportunity.
The most significant transformation comes when agencies use data to anticipate what someone may need before that person asks.
Davis describes proactive care as the ultimate goal of customer experience modernization.
At this stage, data becomes especially important.
Rather than focusing only on individual customer inquiries, agencies can examine information about how people interact with government services.
That information can help organizations identify opportunities to offer assistance earlier in the process.
Davis uses health insurance applications under the Affordable Care Act to illustrate the concept.
Millions of Americans apply for coverage and provide income estimates as part of that process.
Those estimates help determine the rates available to applicants.
Davis asks what could happen if government systems used available information to identify other benefits that might be relevant to those individuals.
Instead of requiring someone to discover another program independently, the government could proactively inform that person about additional assistance.
The goal is to help people navigate services more effectively while reducing confusion.
Davis also identifies potential operational benefits.
When agencies wait for customers to encounter problems, those problems can generate additional costs and create opportunities for waste or fraud.
Providing useful information earlier could help address some of those challenges.
Davis says the federal government does not need to develop every customer experience practice from scratch.
Commercial organizations already demonstrate how proactive service models can work.
One industry he points to is aviation.
Airlines regularly communicate with passengers before potential problems disrupt their travel.
Those communications might involve a gate change, weather delay, or new identification requirement.
Davis highlights the implementation of REAL ID requirements as a personal example.
Before the requirement takes effect, he receives communications from multiple airlines explaining what travelers need to know.
Those airlines are not waiting for passengers to arrive at the airport without the appropriate identification.
They are anticipating a potential problem and communicating before it becomes disruptive.
For Davis, that approach illustrates how organizations can use information to provide better customer service.
Davis emphasizes that commercial practices cannot simply be copied into federal operations without modification.
Government contractors play an important role in identifying effective private-sector approaches and adapting them for federal requirements.
That includes ensuring technologies and processes satisfy appropriate compliance and security standards.
He describes this work as taking the best commercial practices and making them suitable for government use.
The objective is to combine proven customer experience strategies with the safeguards federal organizations require.
As agencies continue modernizing their systems, Davis sees data as a central component of that effort.
It connects the ability to answer questions with the ability to help customers complete tasks and eventually anticipate future needs.
For federal leaders, the opportunity is to think beyond responding to requests.
Davis describes a model in which government services become more helpful because agencies can recognize what people may need next.
The result could be a customer experience that is not only more efficient but also more responsive to the everyday needs of Americans.