Stefano M. Rivolta

The culture of inertia can be strong in government, and fear of failure is a formidable obstacle to experimentation. But at the State Department, Stefano Rivolta is taking the lead on creating a space where technology experimentation and innovation are encouraged, even in the face of steep budget cuts.

He said the point of the Innovation Sandbox is “to explore new technology, not just what’s new and shiny,” and to do so within budget constraints.

“Our focus is to provide a space for this kind of tinkering [or] experimentation with new hardware and software,” Rivolta said. “We’re the ‘let’s get weird’ group.”

The beauty and power of the Innovation Sandbox, which Rivolta expects to formally launch by year’s end, lie in the fact that “we don’t really have a scope,” he added. “We don’t say, ‘That’s not our thing.’”

Laura Williams, director of business applications at State’s Foreign Service Institute, jokes that she “stole” Rivolta from another office after spotting his technical aptitude.

“He has literally been a tank of oxygen to our team,” she said. “We’re going through some really big changes…and he’s really given us all an easy and enjoyable way of trying things out.”

Whether he’s leading brainstorming sessions, promoting human-centered design, creating data visualizations or just generally being approachable, “that sort of pioneering or experimental spirit really humanizes him and really brings everybody to a whole new level,” Williams said.

Rivolta said he is most proud of the “ripple effect” of innovation that has spread throughout the office and seeped into other areas.

In addition to his work on the Innovation Sandbox, he is helping to streamline procurement processes and update State’s IT curriculum by expanding the traditional classroom-based instruction to incorporate podcasts, blogs, micro-learning videos and remote sessions.

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