To our colleagues, partners, and the broader civic-tech community,
When Robert and I founded the Digital Services Coalition (DSC) in 2017, our aim was to prove that people on the front lines of government were uniquely situated, through their knowledge and passion, to reinvent and improve how it serves the public. This vision was inspired by our early career experiences: Robert as a young sailor in the U.S. Navy over three decades ago and mine as a federal acquisition professional, beginning as a GS-7. Throughout our journeys, we rose through the ranks and experienced firsthand how well-intentioned bureaucracy blocked progress and how passionate federal employees were stymied by process.
The early DSC helped turn that frustration into momentum. Agile Six and member companies embraced a fundamental belief in abundance that challenged not only long-established government processes, but also standard patterns of business development and partnership. Instead of competing in silos, we built connections, shared knowledge freely, and came to each other's aid in hard times. That spirit helped us and many others in the DSC deliver meaningful, mission-driven work: modernizing critical systems, expanding access to public services, and building digital tools that improve lives.
Eight years on, the DSC has changed. As membership has grown, we have witnessed the coalition adopt traditional trade-association behavior that prioritizes business-development and brand amplification over mission-driven problem-solving. The culture that once created space for practitioners to collaborate on bold ideas now too often leaves them unspoken and unheard. Most concerning, when conflict arises, the coalition has no clear, trusted way to address it.
For these reasons, we have made the difficult decision to step away from the coalition we helped create.
We wish our DSC colleagues continued success. Moving forward, we encourage the DSC to invest in transparent, shared processes that resolve issues and restores trust among members. For Agile Six, the road ahead is simple: continue to prove, every day, that principled, authentic teams can lift each other up to reinvent digital delivery for the public good.
We're excited to create a future rooted in our values of wholeness, abundance, integrity, and purpose. Remaining pragmatic, fast, and values-driven lets us sense and respond to what the universe gives us, adapting with existential flexibility to modernize government technology and expand access to services, while always putting people first.
Thank you,
Dan Levenson & Robert Rasmussen