The 2026 Permitting Technology Landscape Report

technologyreports
Written By Boon Sheridan

After four years of research, the 2026 Permitting Technology Landscape Report reveals a surprising truth about why infrastructure permitting still takes years despite billions invested in technology. The research uncovered more than 300 permitting tools already in use across government and the private sector—far more than originally expected. The real problem isn’t a lack of technology, but that most of these tools don’t connect or share data with one another, creating silos that slow down coordination across agencies. This disconnect forces staff to spend significant time manually translating information between systems instead of focusing on environmental analysis and decision-making.

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Boon Sheridan

Boon is a UX designer and researcher with decades of experience helping learn from people what their goals are as they use the tools and services built for them. He joined EPIC in May 2025 after four years of service at 18F, a digital services team within the General Services Administration. Boon spent most of his time working with the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) on innovation in permitting technology. While there, he interviewed hundreds of NEPA practitioners, applicants, and technologists looking to improve the permitting process for all. He was a co-author of a report delivered to Congress via CEQ on innovation in permitting technology. At 18F, he helped build and launch the American Climate Corps site, the first federal program to employ thousands of young Americans in the clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience sectors. He was also the research lead for redesigning and launching Get.gov, the domain management service for .gov, the top-level domain for U.S. government agencies. Before 18F, he worked at Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, and companies like IBM, Nasdaq, and Digitas.

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