# Colorado Digital Service
**Wikidata**: [Q125844410](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125844410)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/colorado-digital-service

# Colorado Digital Service

## Summary

The Colorado Digital Service (CDS) is a government agency within the state of Colorado, established in 2019 to improve digital public services for residents. It was modeled directly after the United States Digital Service, adapting the federal digital-service concept to a state-level context. CDS operates under the Colorado Office of Information Technology (OIT).

## Key Facts

- **Type:** Government agency — an organizational part of government responsible for specific public services.
- **Inception:** 2019.
- **Modeled after:** United States Digital Service (USDS), the federal digital-service team.
- **Official website:** https://oit.colorado.gov/colorado-digital-service
- **Parent/supervising body:** Colorado Office of Information Technology (OIT) — inferred from the website domain (oit.colorado.gov).
- **Announcement:** Introduced publicly by the United States Digital Service in a Medium article titled *"Introducing the Colorado Digital Service 🌄"*, published February 4, 2020.
- **Language of founding reference:** English.

## FAQs

**What is the Colorado Digital Service?**
CDS is a state-level government agency created in 2019 to deliver better digital services to Colorado residents, patterned after the federal United States Digital Service.

**What organization inspired the creation of CDS?**
The United States Digital Service (USDS) served as the direct model, as documented in a 2020 announcement post authored by USDS on Medium.

**When was CDS launched?**
The agency was established (inception) in 2019 and was publicly introduced in a February 4, 2020 article by the US Digital Service.

**Where can I find official information about CDS?**
The official website is hosted by the Colorado Office of Information Technology at https://oit.colorado.gov/colorado-digital-service.

## Why It Matters

Colorado Digital Service represents the state-level adoption of the "digital service" model pioneered at the federal level by USDS. This model embeds technologists, designers, and product managers inside government to modernize critical public-facing services. The creation of CDS signaled Colorado's commitment to treating digital service delivery as a core government function rather than an outsourced IT concern, joining a small but growing number of state digital-service teams across the U.S.

## Notable For

- One of the early state-level digital-service organizations in the United States, directly inspired by the federal United States Digital Service.
- Publicly introduced via a co-branded Medium post with USDS, reflecting a close partnership between federal and state digital-service leaders.
- Operates under Colorado's Office of Information Technology, integrating digital-service capacity into the state's existing IT governance structure.

## Body

### History and Founding

The Colorado Digital Service was established in 2019 as a new government agency within the state of Colorado. Its creation followed the blueprint of the United States Digital Service, the federal organization formed in 2014 to improve the government's digital services. On February 4, 2020, USDS published a Medium article — *"Introducing the Colorado Digital Service 🌄"* — formally announcing CDS to the public. The article, authored by the United States Digital Service and accessed as recently as May 8, 2024, confirms that USDS served as the structural and philosophical model for the Colorado initiative.

### Classification and Structure

CDS is classified as a **government agency** — an organizational unit within government tasked with delivering specific public services. It is housed under the **Colorado Office of Information Technology (OIT)**, as indicated by its official website domain (`oit.colorado.gov`). This placement positions CDS to leverage the state's existing technology infrastructure and governance while operating with the mission-driven focus characteristic of digital-service teams.

### Relationship to United States Digital Service

The `based_on` relationship between CDS and the USDS is explicitly documented in the foundational reference material. USDS not only inspired the concept but also played a visible role in CDS's public launch. The 2020 Medium article serves as the primary cited evidence for this relationship, establishing that Colorado adapted the federal model for its own use.

### Official Resources

- **Website:** The agency's official online presence is at https://oit.colorado.gov/colorado-digital-service, hosted under the Colorado OIT domain.

## References

1. [Introducing the Colorado Digital Service 🌄. 2020](https://usdigitalservice.medium.com/introducing-the-colorado-digital-service-493aad3477f0)