Digital Services wins national award for human-centered design

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In May, BTS Digital Services accepted the 2026 Digital Transformation Award from Code for America, a national nonprofit that works with governments to better serve their communities. The award recognizes the team's 2025 work with Portland Permitting & Development to improve the City's permitting website.

The team accepted the award in Chicago at the Code for America Summit. This annual conference brings together civic technologists from around the country to share research, best practices, and opportunities for professional development.

"This award is an incredible honor for our team and for the collaborative relationships we've built across the City," said Hilaire Brockmeyer, manager of the Digital Services team. "We hope to carry this momentum into future collaborations that improve services for the community."

Before the project, community members sometimes struggled to find information based on their specific goals. The team designed new web and information patterns to make applying for a permit easier than before by working with City staff and the community to uncover points of friction. The outcome of their work is permitting information that's easier to find, understand, and use.

In addition to redesigning and rewriting key pages, the team built tools and processes that support a more human-centered web experience moving forward. For this work, the team also received the Digital Champions Award from U.S. Digital Response in November 2025.

Read the project overview for more about the team's work and how it started.

Interested in collaborating with us? Whether you're a community member who wants to help us test our work, or a team at the City hoping to improve your service offering, you can reach us at digital.services@portlandoregon….