Miles Jamison 
- Nava shipped tools in Pennsylvania that cut illegible submissions by 80 percent
- Minnesota now controls the paid leave program Nava helped launch
- Nava continued building Simpler.Grants.gov with HHS in the open
Nava plans to incorporate meaningful open-source components or contributions into at least half of its new work by 2030.
The public benefit corporation said Friday its 2026 Public Benefit Report, titled Evolving the country’s digital ecosystem, details projects involving federal and state agencies and outlines the company’s position on government ownership of technology. Nava also said it intends to advocate for changes to government contracting that help strengthen internal agency capabilities, enhance efficiency and support vendor accountability.
Nava CEO and co-founder Rohan Bhobe said the company’s work demonstrates how technology providers can strengthen government capabilities without creating greater dependence on external vendors, despite ongoing weaknesses and fragmentation in the country’s digital ecosystem. He added that Nava intends to set an example for the work that still needs to be done in the sector.
How Did Nava Support State & Federal Programs in 2026?
On the federal side, the report cites Nava’s ongoing partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services on Simpler.Grants.gov. The company is developing the grants site publicly, using a cooperative design process intended to leave HHS able to maintain the system entirely on its own. Nava is also developing a new grants management system for HHS to replace GrantSolutions.gov, which supports more than 1,500 federal grant programs. The modular and open source system is intended to modernize digital experiences for grantmakers and recipients by enhancing how grant opportunities are published, applications and awards are managed, and funding decisions are communicated.
Nava supported Minnesota in launching its paid leave programs, which became among the most widely used of their kind in the country. The state has since assumed control of the program, which was launched on schedule and within budget. A two-year prime contract with Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development tasked Nava with developing a benefits portal where applicants, employers and agency staff can manage the paid leave program. The work also included a back-end system designed to link with other state services. The program is among the documented beneficiaries of Strata, Nava’s suite of open-source tools for building applications that support paid family and medical leave, unemployment insurance, student financial aid and passport adjudication programs.
The company developed tools for Pennsylvania that helped reduce unreadable documents submitted by 80 percent, helping prevent residents from losing food benefits because of mistakes in their applications. Nava rolled out the tools within five months of H.R. 1 being signed into law.
What Is Nava Doing With AI?
Through its Nava Labs unit, the company collaborated with state and federal agencies and nonprofit organizations to test potential artificial intelligence applications for public-sector use. Its efforts included evaluating the technology, gathering user feedback and testing small, scalable pilots.
Nava Labs has also developed the open-source Caseworker Empowerment Toolkit, a suite of AI-enabled tools designed to help public benefits caseworkers identify eligible services, answer policy questions and process application documents. Developed through more than two years of pilot programs, the toolkit includes a referral generator, an assistive chatbot, document processing software and an AI-assisted form-filling tool.
