by Elizabeth Suneby
Fighting for government integrity and transparency
As a former federal government data scientist, Neil Miller helped make better use of data to improve hiring, workforce engagement, federal contracting, and customer experiences for people receiving government services. Today, he’s helping Americans become citizen watchdogs against potential federal corruption and clandestine financial deals by giving us visibility into no-bid government spending.
Working as a federal employee
A University of Chicago graduate, Miller joined the General Services Administration, Office of Government-wide Policy in the Office of Shared Solutions and Performance Improvement in 2021 as a data scientist. His quest: to help advance a fair, effective, and accountable government.
“Making government work better is hard. Often complex, but it’s not impossible. My colleagues and I made a lot of progress — improving government efficiency and transparency during the Obama, Trump (first term) and Biden presidencies without it being a partisan issue,” explains Miller.
As the data scientist lead on the President’s Management Agenda, Miller was revered by colleagues for his work ethic and results.“Neil is a unique data scientist, combining deep expertise in federal acquisition procedures, federal procurement data, and government-wide acquisition systems—a rare and invaluable skill set… His insights and contributions were always thoughtful, innovative, and impactful,” states a senior procurement policymaker client of Neil’s when he worked at the GSA.
Advocating as a private citizen
Three weeks before Trump took office again, Miller resigned, believing that due to his deep institutional knowledge, he could more effectively advance government efficiency and transparency as a citizen watchdog focused on sole source purchasing. “Sadly, we shouldn’t be surprised if the sole source process gets misused to funnel money to Trump administration allies via no-bid contracts. With mass firings depleting agencies’ capacity, we’ll probably also see more cases of “unusual and compelling urgency” to limit competition and fill the gaps as quickly as possible,” warns Miller.
In February 2025, Miller launched the Sole Source Spotter — a website with a continually updated list of pending no-bid federal contracts. “I hope that the Sole Source Spotter can be used to check privatization and corruption in federal contracting,” he explains.
Notices on pending sole source awards are layers deep behind the SAM.gov login page. The Sole Source Spotter surfaces those documents, so potential vendors and all Americans have a heads-up before a sole source contract is awarded. To learn more, watch this brief video.
What Massachusetts citizens can do
Miller suggests the following ways private citizens can advocate for government efficiency, security, and transparency:
- Share the Sole Source Spotter with anti-corruption watchdogs and good government advocates. If you can, make a small contribution to help Miller maintain the site and build additional tools to track federal contracting.
- Keep calling out the Trump administration’s dismantling of the federal workforce, especially the removal of thousands of conscientious, talented employees who serve the public and make government more efficient. This includes probationary employees, who are people with the fewest years of experience but often with the most up-to-date skills and strongest drive to improve government.
- Join the Boston Federal Unionist Network to learn about rallies and other ways to support federal workers. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) run by Elon Musk has wreaked havoc on the United States Digital Service (USDS), which was launched by President Obama in 2014 and is staffed by top technical experts who have proved they can solve important problems, such as fixing HealthCare.gov and implementing IRS Direct File, enabling citizens to file their federal tax returns online for free. Many of the USDS’ pre-DOGE data scientists, software engineers, and product managers have either resigned or been fired.
- Call out DOGE’s compromising of data security, not just for federal workers but for all Americans. DOGE is improperly using the same data systems that Miller’s team used responsibly, including disregarding legally mandated data security practices, putting workers’ and citizens’ data at risk.
- Focus locally. Make sure the Commonwealth and your town government serve its residents and are role models for effective governing for the rest of the country. For example, in Massachusetts (and other blue states), we need to address the rules and decisions that make housing unaffordable for most who don’t make a six-figure salary.
Miller also advises us to hold on to hope as the current chaos will not last forever. “We will be asked to dig out of the hole we’re being led into. We the people will need to rebuild—not only to reverse the damage but also to make government work even better than it did before Trump’s second term.”
Elizabeth Suneby is a writer and author from Wellesley, Mass., and a member of Neighbors United Indivisible.
