Outreach and Marketing - Grassroots Outreach Messages and Talking Points - GSA Identity Proofing Equity Study

Outreach Email Content
See

Social Media Campaign for Identity Proofing Equity Study for strategy.

Initial Request

Hello [NAME]
My name is Marcia Simms and I am a Communications Lead with the U.S. General Services
Administration (GSA). I’m reaching out as GSA is looking for volunteers to help us ensure that
the technologies used to deliver government services work well for everyone. To provide a little
bit of background - GSA made the decision not to use facial recognition, liveness detection, or
similar emerging technology in connection with its identity verification service. This study will
help assess the impacts of facial recognition across demographic groups and vulnerable
populations, which will inform the agency’s strategy and policy related to these types of
technologies. This equity study will likely launch some time in May and GSA is working to
ensure we have 4000 participants from varied demographic backgrounds. In the end, we hope
to understand how to improve the way we prove people’s identities remotely.
Your organization offers a unique platform for direct outreach to diverse audiences and we’d like
your help to ensure we achieve the goals of the study. I’d welcome the opportunity to chat
through this more with you to explore opportunities to get our message out. Do you have time
[add suggestion] to connect?
Best,
Marcia
[MEETING with talking points below]

Follow-Up Email:
Hello [NAME],
Thank you for the opportunity to connect [ on XXXX/today]. I’m glad I was able to provide you
with a bit more information to GSA’s equity study and our hope to collaborate. It was great to
hear a bit about your outreach efforts with your [members/constituents]. As a follow-up to our
conversation, I wanted to provide you with an example of the message [see below] that could be
used for your audiences. Please keep in mind the language below is undergoing an internal
review process and therefore is subject to change. If visuals are needed, please let us know the
specs and we can get those created as well. Please let us know if this will be suitable for your
[email/newsletters/etc] as we work to get things finalized.
[If needed] I look forward to receiving more information about the proposed costs and the
timelines. We will respond ASAP with next steps. [When we spoke, you mentioned a fee for
service. Could you provide more details on engagement analytics for your membership base? If
possible, it would be helpful to know user engagement metrics by platform (e.g., newsletter:
open rate, CTR; social media: CTA conversion, etc.).]
Soon, we will record a demo of the study to showcase the user experience. We hope that
viewing the demo will provide transparency for your organization and I will share that video with
you as a next step on my end. Should you have any questions or concerns after viewing the
demo, I would be happy to schedule a meeting.
GSA is committed to combating bias and improving outreach practices, user testing, and user
experience for underserved communities in civic tech design. Thank you for extending your help
to make this happen! We look forward to working with you moving forward.
Best,
Marcia

Mailing list posting or slack marketing message

Hello! The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is looking for participants for a short
study that will help government technology and websites work better for all communities. Our
research hopes to understand how to improve the way we verify people’s identities remotely.
This study takes just 45 minutes, requires some personal information (such as a picture of your
ID, selfie, social security number, etc) and can be completed on your smartphone. Specifically,
the study will test for bias in facial matching technology and other methods used to verify
identity so that people can get access to services from their government.
Help us ensure government websites work for everyone by participating in our study. Click here
to join [url]. Compensation is available for those who are eligible to participate. You can find
more information on how GSA will use and protect your information at [LANDING PAGE URL or
POLICY WEBPAGE URL].
GSA is committed to combating bias and improving outreach practices, user testing, and user
experience for underserved communities in civic tech design. We need your help to make this
happen. Sign up now [url]!

Talking points
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GSA is committed to combating bias and improving outreach practices, user testing, and
user experience for underserved communities in civic tech design. That is why we will
study remote identity-proofing technologies that the American public may interact with
when accessing eligible government services and benefits.
Identity proofing is the process of verifying that an individual is who they say they are.
Government agencies, financial institutions, and other organizations often require some
type of “proof” before granting you access to their services. This is typically done by
asking you for documentation such as a driver’s license, a passport, or your social
security number.
Remote identity proofing uses modern technology to streamline this process. In this
study, identity-proofing software will try to determine if two images of you belong to the
same person.
The current methods of identity proofing are often inequitable, leaving certain groups of
people unable to access the services they need. Our research study aims to understand
how existing methods of identity proofing can improve this issue. Participation includes
taking pictures of your ID with your smartphone, taking selfies, and answering questions
about the process. You’ll also need to provide your Social Security number for
verification purposes.
Participants will be asked for:
○ Information specific to their demographics and background
○ Participation takes just 45 minutes and can be completed on a smartphone.
The landing page that supports the study will be live in May and we’d welcome
participants at that time.
We appreciate people dedicating their time and have provided a $25 gift card as
compensation.
We would like to ask if your organization would be open to helping us get the message
out. We welcome understanding if there is an opportunity to list the study in any
upcoming outreach, such as newsletters or direct emails. We have content and imagery
ready to go if needed.
○ The content cannot be modified to protect the integrity of the research process.
We understand there may be a cost associated and we are open to that as well.
Study is scheduled to go live on May 1, 2023
Will recruitment be “one and done” or ongoing?
○ We will continue recruiting until we reach 4,000 participants. Note that because
we want to ensure an even distribution across demographics, some people may
not qualify to participate and will be notified during registration.
We know trust is important to everyone. GSA will share participants' information - such
as PII - with third party vendors who will only use it for verification. GSA will instruct the
vendors to delete the data provided during the study within 24 hours of collection. The
information will not be used for advertising or any other purpose. GSA will store the
information for up to six years in accordance with the retention schedule requirements

under the Customer Research and Reporting Records and any other applicable federal
records schedules.