September 22, 2017

ACCESS NYC, the City’s online public benefits screening and information tool, was recognized at “The Best of New York 2017” at The New York Digital Government Summit in Albany, NY and received an award for “Best Application Serving The Public.”

The Design and Product Team at NYC Opportunity re-designed ACCESS NYC through an iterative prototyping process that engaged residents, social workers, case managers, and government agency staff. The new design and core user experience was created in-house, and information about each benefit was standardized, available either through the tool or via the Benefits and Programs API. ACCESS NYC re-launched in March 2017 and introduced a simplified 10-step screening process, plain-language program information, content in seven languages, a location finder, and an accessible, mobile-friendly design. The website is open source and the code is available on Github.

Since the launch of the redesign, the total number of New Yorkers completing the eligibility screening process per month has increased from 5,000 to 8,600 on average and the rate of completion has increased from 44% to 67%.

Interested in putting your data, design, and digital skills into service to build more tools like ACCESS NYC? The team is hiring.