Keynotes
Not Every Resident Has a $1,200 Phone: Building Digital Services That Don't Leave People Behind
A hard look at how digital government services can disenfranchise low-income families, seniors, and rural communities — and practical, demo-driven strategies to build inclusion into every layer of identity systems.
What the session covers
- Why smartphone requirements are the single biggest barrier to digital inclusion for government services
- How printed credentials (paper receipts, QR codes, NFC stickers) keep people in the system without a phone
- The biometric binding layer that lets anyone prove 'who they are' without expensive hardware
- Lessons from LA Wallet, which Envoc created and launched and then divested in December 2025: where digital-first design excluded the people it was meant to serve
- Live demo: showing the multi-channel verification flow — phone, printed credential, and biometric fallback
Ideal audience
Government agencies, civic technology teams, accessibility advocates, and public-sector IT leaders designing citizen-facing services.
Formats
- Keynote
- Workshop
Length60-90 minutes with Q&A