What Civilla does

Civilla is a Detroit-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit design studio founded in 2015 by Michael Brennan, Lena Selzer, and Adam Selzer at Stanford University's d.school, with a mission to transform public-serving institutions through human-centered design. The organization operates a portfolio of project-based engagements with state and local government agencies, most notably the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the Michigan Department of State (MDOS), the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA), and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO). Its work spans the redesign of benefits applications (40+ page form reduced by 80%, serving 2.5 million residents annually), DMV renewal mailings (16 pages reduced to one page, saving 32 million sheets of paper per year), unemployment insurance claim experiences for 4.5 million Michigan workers, online enrollment portals, application status trackers, and the Michigan Reconnect free community college program that secured $55 million in legislative funding.

The studio's core technology and methodology is human-centered design tailored for government, combining user research, service design, business process redesign, policy change, and implementation support, including training frontline staff and navigating federal approvals. Civilla does not sell a unified software platform; its deliverables are embedded redesigns and accompanying digital tools (online enrollment, application tracker, claimant roadmap, employer help center, Medicaid templates) deployed inside partner agency systems. Additional productized assets include user-tested application templates and research reports positioned as policy guidance for other states.

Revenue derives from two streams: (1) philanthropic funding from foundations and donors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (flagship) and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and (2) Civilla Practica, a learning program offering free self-guided online courses alongside fee-based skill sprints (1–3 day facilitated training) and 6-month accelerators for public-sector teams. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales and long-term partnerships with agency leadership, supplemented by content marketing, earned media, and learning program enrollment. Civilla is led by CEO Julia Dale (former Director of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency), with co-founder Michael Brennan serving as Executive Board Chair. The organization is headquartered in TechTown Detroit at 440 Burroughs St #200, with no subsidiaries, no public API, and no patent portfolio disclosed.

Name

Civilla

Legal name

Civilla

Website

https://civilla.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Civilla is a Detroit-based nonprofit design studio that partners with state and local government agencies to redesign public-serving institutions through human-centered design, serving millions of residents with streamlined benefits, licensing, unemployment, and education programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Design Services

NAICS

Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (92512)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil Society Strengthening & Civic Space (BPADAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Civil Service & Public Administration (HR, Org Dev, Workforce Policy) (BPAIAAAD)

Keywords

• Public sector design
• Human-centered design services
• Government service redesign
• Benefits application design
• Nonprofit design studio

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Funding: Civilla is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The organization relies on philanthropic partners and funders who support its shared vision of improving public-serving institutions. Funding supports long-term bodies of work that scale change in public-serving institutions.
2. Civilla Practica Learning Programs: Free self-guided online courses for fundamentals learning; fee-based skill sprints (1-3 day facilitated training); fee-based accelerators (6-month deep practice programs). Programs build human-centered design skills for public sector employees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Civilla is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit design studio that partners with state and local government agencies to redesign public-serving services through human-centered design. Its work spans user research, service design, application and form redesign, implementation support, and capacity-building training, with flagship engagements across public benefits, DMV renewals, unemployment insurance, and adult education access.

Product overview

Civilla is a non-profit design studio that partners with public-serving institutions to transform government services through human-centered design. The company operates a portfolio of distinct project-based offerings including Project Re:form (benefits application redesign), Online Enrollment (digital benefits portal), DMV Mailings (form simplification), Project Re:new (renewal process improvement), Application Tracker (status transparency tool), Project One Day (accelerated eligibility), Project Cohere (energy assistance), Unemployment Insurance Delivery (claims simplification), Michigan Reconnect (education access), and Medicaid Work Requirements Templates. These core products are complemented by Civilla Practica, a capacity-building learning program offering online courses, skill sprints, and accelerators. Services include user research and strategy, service design, implementation support, and capacity building training. The company does not operate a unified software platform but rather delivers discrete, project-based engagements focused on design transformation of government services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civilla Practica A capacity-building learning program offering free self-guided online courses, facilitated skill sprints (1-3 days), and 6-month accelerators that build human-centered design skills for public sector employees and teams.
• User Research + Strategy In-depth qualitative and quantitative research services that help public-serving institutions understand residents' needs and identify opportunities for service transformation.
• Service Design Human-centered design services that reshape end-to-end public services across technology, business process, policy, and operations for institutional clients.
• Implementation Support Long-term partnership service working alongside government partners to navigate implementation, including federal approvals and staff training, sustaining human-centered solutions through statewide scaling.
• Capacity Building Training programs for individuals and teams in human-centered design aimed at shifting organizational cultures within public-serving institutions over the long term.
• Project Re:form A benefits application redesign partnership that reduced the longest benefits application in the country from 40+ pages to a form 80% shorter, enabling residents to apply in under 20 minutes with 90% completion rates.
• DMV Mailings Redesign Redesigned DMV renewal mailings for the Michigan Department of State that reduced 16-page mailings to a single page, saving an estimated 32 million sheets of paper annually and increasing online renewal compliance.
• Medicaid Work Requirements Templates User-tested application templates and policy guidance for states implementing Medicaid work requirements under H.R. 1, designed to reduce paperwork and keep eligible residents covered.

Quantifiable outcome

• Benefits application processing time reduced by 42%
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year partnership to redesign Michigan's public benefits application, renewal processes, and online enrollment. MDHHS is Civilla's primary and most extensive institutional partner, with work spanning multiple projects including Project Re:form, Project Re:new, Online Enrollment, and Application Tracker.
• Michigan Department of State (MDOS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to redesign DMV renewal mailings for clarity and efficiency, resulting in 88% shorter forms and 32 million sheets of paper saved annually.
• Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Michigan Reconnect program research that helped shape $55 million bipartisan legislation for free community college, and unemployment insurance delivery improvements.
• Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to streamline unemployment benefits experience for Michigan's 4.5 million workers, including claimant roadmap and employer help center design.
• City of BostoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on generative AI guidelines and implementation for city staff, enabling streamlined communications and improved resident services.
• Code for AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on improving public benefit applications. Code for America has recognized Civilla's online enrollment portal as one of the strongest benefit applications in the country.
• Coalition of for-profit, non-profit, and government agencies (for Project Cohere)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-sector partnership for streamlined energy assistance application process, achieving 10-minute eligibility determinations through mobile technology and data sharing.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• U.S. Digital Service (USDS): Federal government team of technologists and designers embedded in agencies to deliver better public services. USDS shares Civilla's human-centered design methodology and government client base, though it operates inside the executive branch rather than as an external nonprofit partner.
• Code for America: Nonprofit civic-tech organization that builds and advocates for digital tools to improve government services, including safety-net benefit applications. Code for America has publicly recognized Civilla's online enrollment portal as one of the strongest benefit applications in the country, making them the closest direct peer in mission, customer base, and delivery model.
• Nava: Public-interest technology firm that partners with government agencies to design, build, and modernize critical services. Nava's focus on end-to-end digital service delivery for agencies (e.g., healthcare, unemployment) closely mirrors Civilla's redesign-plus-implementation model, though Nava operates with for-profit engineering scale.
• The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation: Georgetown-based center that drives human-centered design and technology adoption in government and the social sector. The Beeck Center trains public-sector leaders and conducts research on digital service delivery, closely paralleling Civilla's capacity-building work through Civilla Practica.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Government & Public Services: Major consulting firm with a large government and public-services practice offering digital transformation, customer experience, and benefits-modernization work. Deloitte competes for the same state-agency modernization budgets that Civilla targets, though at far greater scale and breadth.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with a long history of public-sector and social-impact work. IDEO operates across many industries at much larger scale, making it a broad incumbent whose service-design methodology and civic engagements overlap with Civilla's offering.
• New America: Think tank with civic programs and policy research that frequently intersects with Civilla's mission (e.g., Tara McGuinness, author of Power to the Public, is a New America Senior Advisor). New America is a broader policy and research incumbent rather than a service-design studio, but it shapes the same civic-modernization conversation.

Emerging players

• Bluelight: Nonprofit that recruits and places technologists into state and local government to build digital services. Bluelight's mission of embedding product, design, and engineering talent into agencies is complementary to Civilla's design-led engagement model.
• Results for America: Nonprofit focused on evidence-based decision-making and performance management in government. Results for America's emphasis on measuring outcomes in public programs overlaps with Civilla's quantified-impact approach to benefits modernization.

Regional players

• State Digital Service networks (e.g., Colorado Digital Service): Government-embedded digital service teams that modernize state services. Civilla already partners with Colorado Digital Service and others; these internal government units are both collaborators and partial competitors for redesign mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/civilla
• Instagraminstagram.com/civilladetroit
• Xx.com/CivillaDetroit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Civilla