ePolicyWorks

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), ePolicyWorks is a web-based approach to policymaking that engages citizens and stakeholders in new and innovative ways. The initiative leverages the latest technology in crowdsourcing to address barriers to employment for people with disabilities through real-time collaboration and communication around key issues. It reflects a change in how stakeholders connect and collaborate with the Federal Government and each other, and as a result, increases the efficiency of the policymaking process.

Since 2013, ePolicyWorks has hosted more than 50 national online dialogues to engage stakeholders and enable the government to gather the public's input on key policy issues related to the employment of people with disabilities. Each national online dialogue encourages a community of participants to form as they share their ideas and comment and vote on others’ ideas. This type of crowdsourcing is more interactive and drives social participation. ePolicyWorks is transparent and community-driven and allows users to be flexible in their level of engagement. It’s also value-driven, in that concrete results to which participants have contributed their efforts are achieved.

ePolicyWorks helps modernize government through its national online dialogues and maximizes efficiency by tapping into the knowledge of its diverse stakeholder communities. Because everything is hosted on the Web, more people can participate, less logistical planning and funding is needed, accessibility is built in, and participants can access the dialogue communities at any time of the day, from any device.

ePolicyWorks is an example of Federal information sharing and participatory policymaking through interactive technology. Most importantly, participants' voices help ODEP and its partners identify solutions, create policy and effect change that positively impacts the employment of people with disabilities. ePolicyWorks has the power to promote positive, lasting change through effective public policy and advance America's promise of equal employment opportunity for all citizens.