LEXINGTON, Ky., Wednesday, June 11 — When it comes to FirstNet, a nationwide high-speed wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety, state governments are taking divergent approaches to planning and varied strategies for engaging with federal and local partners according to a report released today by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). The research report is based on the results of a survey of State CIOs that illustrates not only the ongoing planning around the network, but also the diverse approaches being employed by the states for engagement with local stakeholders, the federal FirstNet Authority, and even other states. It also shows a significant distribution in the maturity of state planning, ongoing outreach, and governance strategies. The report, The States and FirstNet: An Early Look from the State CIOs, is available at www.nascio.org/publications.

“Building a nationwide public safety communications network is going to require a tremendous amount of planning, negotiation, and collaboration across all levels of government,” said Darryl Ackley, co-chair of the NASCIO Broadband Committee and chief information officer for the state of New Mexico. “This report provides an early snapshot of how the states are approaching this extremely complex policy and infrastructure initiative.”

Some of NASCIO’s results were surprising, with almost a quarter of states not engaged in active stakeholder outreach, and more than half the states already collecting data they plan to utilize in their planning efforts. NASCIO also found that while over 70 percent of states appear to have a governance model in place and are turning towards actively engaging in planning and outreach with key stakeholders, some have aggressively moved ahead and have begun collecting data, while a handful are still working on initial governance and staffing concerns.

NASCIO Broadband Committee co-chair and state chief information officer for Wisconsin, David Cagigal said, “FirstNet is a major intergovernmental undertaking, with the need for states to do budgeting forecasts, infrastructure and technology planning, and education and outreach to potential users. How states approach this problem will have a significant bearing on whether we end up with a successful, sustainable model for this major national endeavor.”

When the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act was signed into law in February 2012, it created the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet)—tasked with building, operating and maintaining the first high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety in conjunction with the states. FirstNet will provide a single interoperable platform for emergency and daily public safety communications, fulfilling one of the last outstanding recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

LEXINGTON, Ky., Thursday, May 8, 2014 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has awarded David McClure, associate administrator, citizen services and innovative technologies, U.S. General Services Administration, with the association’s 2014 NASCIO Technology Champion (NTC) award. McClure received recognition for his outstanding contributions promoting government performance excellence through sound information technology solutions, policies and practice during the 2014 NASCIO Midyear Conference in Baltimore, Md.

“It is my honor to present Dave with NASCIO’s prestigious NTC award, said Craig Orgeron, NASCIO president and Mississippi CIO. “Each year NASCIO recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a clear understanding for the fundamental and transformational role that IT can play in efficient and effective government operations and Dave is more than deserving of this recognition.”

McClure has been one of the most active and influential participants in the development and implementation of advanced technology in government for over three decades. In addition to working with the White House and Office of Management and Budget to implement the administration’s open government, digital strategy and information technology efficiency programs, he serves on the federal CIO Council Executive Committee and the Federal Digital Services Advisory Group. In addition, he regularly included NASCIO and state CIOs in federal IT policy discussions and opportunities for collaboration.

LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, April 15 – The National Association of State Chief Information Officer’s (NASCIO) is honored to announce that Jim Sills, NASCIO Executive Committee Director and Delaware Cabinet Secretary and CIO, was appointed to serve as the new NASCIO representative to the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global) Advisory Committee (GAC). Representing NASCIO, state CIOs have served on Global for more than a dozen years.

GAC operates under the support and leadership auspices of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Sills will serve alongside more than 30 independent organizations spanning the spectrum of justice- and public safety-interested constituencies. Member organizations participate in Global out of shared responsibility and a shared belief that, together, they can bring about positive change in interorganizational communication and data sharing. 

“It’s an honor to be appointed to serve on the GAC,” said Sills. “I look forward to learning from other members, and sharing some insights and best practices on technologies, such as cloud, mobile, security, and business intelligence. As the NASCIO representative, it’s my goal to help drive the conversation on how to improve data sharing among this outstanding group of federal criminal justice and public partners.”

The GAC advises the nation’s highest-ranking law enforcement officer—the U.S. Attorney General—on information sharing issues. The GAC also assists member organizations and the people they serve through a series of important initiatives, making the Committee a critical voice across all justice-interested disciplines, at every level of government. Global recommends the development and promulgation of technology standards and architectures such as the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). NASCIO is an ardent supporter of NIEM and advocates for its adoptions at the state and local level. See NASCIO’s statement of support here.

LEXINGTON, Ky., Wednesday, March 5, 2014 — States and local government are joining up to save money and leverage economies of scale in operations to deliver better government services. The recipe for successful cross-jurisdictional collaborations have been explored by NASCIO in its report titled, “What Makes Collaborative Initiatives Work?” Often the primary incentive to forming a collaborative is cost sharing. NASCIO continues to build its portfolio of publications and references with a new release highlighting cost sharing. A list of essential design elements for cost sharing is presented along with examples of successful collaboratives. The publication is available at www.nascio.org/publications

“NASCIO is a strong proponent for cross jurisdictional collaboratives. We believe collaborative arrangements will be successful if they are starting with the right vision and then develop an architecture that is deliberately designed to support that vision. One of the foundational elements of that architecture is cost sharing,” said Calvin Rhodes, co-chair of the NASCIO Cross-Jurisdictional Collaboration working group and chief information officer for the state of Georgia.

Cost sharing must be designed for sustainability, anticipating ongoing change. That change will include changes in demands for services. That demand includes demand for new services as well as changing demands for existing services. There may be changes in costs along the entire supply chain, and there may be new methods for delivering services. These dynamics require an ongoing discipline or process for anticipation, evaluation and implementation of necessary changes to maintain an equitable and effective cost sharing model.

“The most effective collaboratives are arrangements that are successful at partnering. That partnering aspect requires understanding the motivations and needs of the member organizations,” said Brenda Decker, co-chair for the NASCIO Cross-Jurisdictional Collaboration working group and chief information officer for the state of Nebraska. “Those member needs are often met through non-financial contributions. An effective collaborative and an effective cost sharing model for supporting it will account for a variety of member contributions including in-kind contributions. We maintain a state-wide or often regional view of economics when we develop these types of comprehensive cost sharing models. A great example of partnering is our Network Nebraska Cost Recovery Model which is highlighted in this report.”

LEXINGTON, Ky., Wednesday, February 12 — NASCIO applauds the Administration for publishing a consensus-based, voluntary Cybersecurity Framework. The Framework provides states with a common platform on which to base strategic security decisions, allocate resources, and build defenses against both common and sophisticated attacks. The Framework provides a common language for all levels of government and their partners in the private sector to perform risk analysis and detail their security efforts.

Today’s release is a critical step in a process the President began a year ago when he signed an Executive Order that brought federal leadership to a major vulnerability in our national security infrastructure. The inclusion of a methodology to protect privacy and personal information is also valuable for states, which are responsible for storing sensitive information on citizens and businesses. This addition is a welcome refinement to the final framework.

Similarly to the private sector, state governments are at risk from a host of diverse and changing security threats that require a formal strategy, adequate resources, and constant vigilance. In response, states are actively working to increase their cyber readiness. Over three-quarters of states have adopted some cybersecurity framework based on national standards and guidelines, with the vast majority utilizing National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards to some degree.

NASCIO thanks the Administration for the collaborative process that led up to the creation of the cybersecurity framework. Our members hope to continue to collaborate with NIST and the Department of Homeland Security to create a state and local government overlay for the cybersecurity framework that will provide additional specificity by including the federal laws and regulations with which states and localities must comply.

NASCIO will be encouraging states to adopt the framework as a common language in which to build a strategic cybersecurity plan that provides leadership and stakeholders a better understanding of the security stance within state governments.

This is not the end, but the beginning of a process, and both states and our federal partners still have significant work to do in this area. Advancing common security and information sharing, protocols, such as National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), will be important to securing public sector data while still allowing it to flow between various sectors of government. In addition, Congress and the Administration must work to reform the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA). By streamlining requirements to meet end goals rather than checklists, we can provide greater services to citizens and more secure state data networks.