Accenture opens new digital studio to advance design and innovation performance for U.S. government clients

WASHINGTON, D.C.; July 26, 2016 – Building on Accenture Federal Services’ (AFS) long track record of helping government agencies address complex, high-impact challenges, such as healthcare.gov and studentloans.gov, AFS has launched the new Accenture Federal Services Digital Studio in Washington, D.C., to focus on the next big challenge for government: radically improving the engagement of citizens and employees.

AFS built this space for collaboration and co-creation with clients. It showcases the capabilities of Accenture Digital’s industry-leading capabilities comprising Accenture Interactive, Accenture Analytics and Accenture Mobility, and is being deployed to help Accenture’s federal clients better engage with the people that they employ, serve and protect. The AFS Digital Studio will provide digital strategy, service and experience design, digital marketing and agile product-development capabilities.

“Great experiences don’t just happen, they are created,” said David Moskovitz, chief executive of Accenture Federal Services. “Here at the Digital Studio is where that will begin, with our team of specialized experts and our federal client partners.”

Accenture is creating an environment that helps advance ideation and innovation by melding the physical and digital worlds – combining the best digital innovations and advances in design thinking with rapid prototyping and modeling tools.

“By leveraging innovations in human-centered design and rapid prototyping, the Digital Studio can enable federal agencies to more quickly evaluate, develop and deploy new solutions that enhance customer experience and better meet customer needs,” Moskovitz said.

Michael Lawless, director of the AFS Digital Studio, said,

“The Digital Studio brings to our federal clients a proven, agile, problem-solving approach with experts in service and experience design—a team of digital thinkers, makers and doers. This integrated approach brings together client ideas, proven methodologies and cutting-edge technology to help our clients better meet their federal mission mandates.”

The Digital Studio features a Fjord Design & Innovation team. Fjord, a part of Accenture Interactive, is a global leader in service and experience design and will help Accenture federal clients design, develop and implement successful user-friendly experiences that rival those it has brought to U.S. government agencies including the Internal Revenue Service and the Census Bureau as well consumer brands such as adidas, Citibank and the BBC. Accenture Interactive, part of Accenture Digital, has been named a leader among global digital experience service providers by Forrester Research Inc., a leading global research and advisory firm. Ad Age has named Accenture Interactive the largest – and fastest growing – digital agency network in the United States and worldwide.

“The needs of the end user – whether an employee or a citizen – should guide technology solutions,” said Olof Schybergson, Fjord CEO and co-founder. “That empathy starts with design, and combining our design expertise with AFS’s insights into the needs of government clients will help federal agencies transform their service.”

Moskovitz added,

“We expect that in the coming years the Digital Studio will bring hundreds of new jobs in leading-edge digital technologies and services to D.C. The Digital Studio will be a destination for the region’s top talent to work for the nation’s highest-priority programs and help make a difference for millions of people.”

Accenture Federal Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, a U.S. company, with offices in Arlington, Virginia. Accenture’s federal business has served every cabinet-level department and 30 of the largest U.S. federal organizations. Accenture Federal Services transforms bold ideas into breakthrough outcomes for clients at defense, intelligence, public safety, civilian and military health organizations.