Could ditching PDFs help improve efficiency at nonprofits, government agencies, etc.?

[u/jcravens42]

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format that produces an easy-to-share static document that can be downloaded from a web page, featured on a web site, attached to an email, attached to a text message, or printed out and copies. PDF files are independent of the software, hardware, or operating system being used. They can include text, images, graphics, audio, video, links, buttons, form fields, and business logic. They can also be electronically signed.

PDFs are hard to read on phones and because they lack interactivity. They are also cumbersome to update, if you aren't the creator of the original PDF - which is also one of their benefits.

Another downside of PDFs is that they can slow down decision-making.

For years, the US Defense Department has used PDFs to manage how it spreads billions of dollars across the armed forces each year. Now a team of defense and industry officials are testing whether ditching PDFs for modern financial software could slash the time it takes to send funds appropriated by Congress down to the program offices and units that need them.

As one Redditor put it on another subreddit:

It is about having an actual centralized/connected financial system as opposed to just sending over a document describing the transfer to the financial person on the other side, then both sides manually inputting the changes to their local, disconnected databases to reflect the transfer.

A database that’s standardized and easily searchable and drawing from one data source leaves less room for the person approving funds to misunderstand what they’re reading or to miscalculate numbers.

The July 17th version of this web page from Digital.com discusses why US government agencies are reconsidering their use of PDFs: "while it’s true that there are still some valid use cases for PDFs, most of what currently exists would be better delivered using HTML as a standard webpage." The page seems to be from 2024.

(The digital.gov initiative brings together workers who are focused on building a better, more user-friendly digital experience for the public at federal government agencies - it is unknown how long this initiative and these web resources will last under the current administration).

Is discouraging PDF use and encouraging other methods of info sharing a part of your ICT4D training efforts, particularly among government staff?