A SXSW 2024 Meet Up Submission: With public trust at an all time low, join our conversation to discuss how we - as government communicators - can ensure that the services we provide are accessible to the people who need them.

1. In Comms We Trust
A Government Communicator Meet Up
SXSW 2024

2. Only two-in-ten Americans say they
trust government in Washington to
do what is right.
Source
Pew Research Center

3. Trust in Government is at an all time low
We can humanize
government and
increase
connections
The disconnect was felt most acutely in
communities of color and households roughly
below the median income who felt government
lacked connections with the communities they
were purported to represent.
Source

4. It begins with transparency
We must
communicate
clearly with those
we serve
Join our conversation to discuss how we, as
government communicators, can ensure that
the services we provide are accessible to the
people who need them.
SXSW 2024

5. To meet our audiences where they are
…requires
innovation and
creative solutions
From patents to satellite data, food stamps and
early childhood daycares, government can
help. We need to be creative and committed to
meeting individuals and communities where
they are.
SXSW 2024
It begins with transparency.

6. Let’s Collaborate!
A diverse conference experience
SXSW is an opportunity for gov
communicators from all subject
areas, all government types, and
all nationalities to come together
and compare notes.
It begins with transparency.

7. Gov Communicators are at SXSW
We self-organized an informal
gathering in 2023 and seek take it
to the next level - and reach even
more government communicators
we know are out there.
It begins with transparency.

8. Meet Up Host - Brian Whittaker
• Brian Whittaker is the founder of Humans of
Public Service, a non-profit that shares stories of
diverse public servants on social media platforms.
• Brian is a Federal Executive by day with over 7
years of government experience
SXSW 2024

9. Meet Up Host - Catie Miller
• Catie Miller serves as Director of Strategic
Communications for the President’s Management
Agenda and is the lead of the Social Media Community
of Practice from Digital.gov
• She is the creator of multiple governmentwide
campaigns, including #GovLove and #GovPossible and
has over 10 years of experience in the public sector
SXSW 2024

10. More reasons trust + communication
matters
Our work has real world implications. Read on to discover why.

11. Why trust matters
CDC Lab Team Member working on Zika virus
testing and prevention
Engagement
• The CDC puts out
recommended vaccine
schedules that help keep
Americans safe - and other
agencies put out guidance
from everything to car seats
to mortgage disclosure forms.
• Yet individuals will only use
and engage with this
information if they trust it.

12. Why trust matters
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland
Use of Programs
• Government administrators a wide
array of programs on behalf of the
American people - but individuals will
only apply for and use these if they
trust the value of the services will be
worth their time and they and the
data they share will be used correctly.
• We have work to do building trust in
communities that have traditionally
be under-resourced and under
represented.

13. Why trust matters
In 2010, most households were given the opportunity
to answer census questions first by mail. Now
electronic submissions are encouraged first.
Collaboration & Partnership
• The Census Bureau seeks to be
the leading source of quality
data about the nation’s people
and the economy.
• However a complete count
relies on over 400,000 partners
to encourage census
completion.

14. See you in March
2024!