ePolicyWorks

Throughout 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) ePolicyWorks initiative hosted a series of national online dialogues focused on advancing equity for underrepresented and historically marginalized communities.

Sponsored by DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), ePolicyWorks aims to promote positive, lasting change by informing public policymaking efforts. Its collaborative approach leverages Web-based technology, stakeholder involvement and real-time information sharing to address specific barriers to employment faced by people with disabilities and other historically marginalized communities. By encouraging national experts and stakeholders to contribute their knowledge and help shape policy, ePolicyWorks is helping to advance America’s promise of equal employment opportunity for all.

Central to the ePolicyWorks initiative are accessible productivity and crowdsourcing tools, including its signature online dialogues. These interactive platforms for collaboration and information sharing enable ODEP to work with its partners to enlist the public’s input on key policy issues related to the employment of people with disabilities. Over the years, ePolicyWorks has hosted more than 60 of these online dialogues on a wide range of topics.

The online dialogues are akin to “virtual town halls” since they use online tools to solicit ideas or contributions from stakeholders in order to solve problems and make decisions. In comparison to traditional methods of gathering feedback, online dialogues offer numerous advantages. For instance, they connect agencies to stakeholders or constituents nationwide, provide cost benefits and efficiencies, and serve as an outreach and awareness tool. Traditional feedback gathering methods—whether through a live, in-person event or a request for written comments—involve limited participation. They tend to be one-time engagements that are purely data-driven. Crowdsourcing, on the other hand, taps the power of technology and interactive online features such as voting, idea submission and commenting. It is community driven and value driven, and it emphasizes results.