Press Release
GFOA Announces GovFi Solutions, a New Public Finance Venture
GovFi brings public finance professionals and technology builders together to validate needs, test ideas and help promising solutions reach the market.
CHICAGO, October 13, 2026. The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) today announced the launch of GovFi Solutions, a new venture focused on turning important public finance challenges into practical, sustainable solutions. GovFi is a for-profit subsidiary of GFOA, operating as a separate corporation with its own board of directors.
GovFi brings together public finance expertise, practitioner participation and technology partners to identify problems worth solving and evaluate potential solutions. Its focus includes challenges in financial planning, reporting, workforce capacity and the practical application of emerging technology, including artificial intelligence.
“Public finance professionals understand where better tools could make a real difference in their work and in the communities they serve,” said Chris Morrill, Executive Director and CEO of GFOA. “GovFi gives that expertise a more direct role in shaping what gets built. By bringing practitioners and technology companies together, we can help promising ideas become useful solutions for government.”
GovFi’s model follows four stages: Validate, Build, Pilot, and Invest & Scale. It begins by confirming needs with the professionals who experience them, then helps develop and test potential solutions with founders, established technology companies and other partners. Opportunities advance based on evidence of practical value, credible demand and a sustainable path to adoption. Selective investment and operating support may help validated opportunities scale.
At launch, GovFi’s emphasis is on problem validation, partnerships and pilots. Technology partners will play a central role in building, delivering and supporting products, while GovFi contributes public finance knowledge, practitioner collaboration and commercial judgment.
“Building useful government technology takes more than a good idea or an impressive demonstration,” said James Ha, GovFi’s Board President, a GovTech entrepreneur with 20 years of experience building and scaling public-sector technology companies. “We want to help builders understand the problem early, test with the people who will use the solution, and establish a practical way to deliver and support it. That is how we turn promising ideas into lasting value.”
GovFi’s innovation work is led by Chief Innovation Officer Shayne Kavanagh. Its board brings together experience in public finance, government technology, entrepreneurship and investment.
Public benefit, evidence and clear evaluation criteria guide GovFi’s work. GovFi’s commercial relationships and investments do not, by themselves, constitute endorsement by GFOA.
GovFi invites public finance professionals to share challenges and contribute expertise, and welcomes founders and technology companies with ideas or existing solutions to evaluate. Interested participants can learn more through the GovFi Solutions website.
About GovFi Solutions
GovFi Solutions, Inc. is a public finance venture and for-profit subsidiary of GFOA. Working with practitioners, founders and technology partners, GovFi validates problems, helps develop and pilot solutions, and supports promising opportunities through commercialization, partnerships and selective investment. GovFi is governed by its own board of directors.
About GFOA
The Government Finance Officers Association serves public finance professionals across the United States and Canada. Through research, education, professional development and practical guidance, GFOA advances excellence and innovation in government finance to help communities thrive.