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Top StoriesNew State CIOs Gather for Leadership WorkshopNASCIO recently hosted seven newly appointed state CIOs at the New State CIO Leadership Workshop. The workshop is one in a series of NASCIO touch-points to support new state CIOs in most effectively engaging in their new roles and implementing their action plans for success. State CIOs attending the immersion workshop were:
New state CIOs: Mark your calendar for an upcoming new CIO webinar, April 13. In addition, a more condensed New State CIO Workshop II is planned for May 3 during the NASCIO Midyear Conference. Strategic partners provided success strategies for relationships with key partners - such as the state budget officer, legislature and finance officials - as well as leadership strategies for tough and transitionary times. NASCIO wishes to thank our faculty:
Honor State Government IT Innovation - Apply for a NASCIO Recognition Award
Mark the date: An all-states call to review best practices for awards submissions is scheduled for March 30 at 2:00 pm Eastern. Contact Alison Keller at akeller@amrms.com with questions. NASCIO's state recognition awards will be presented during the 2011 NASCIO Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. Recognition is provided in the following categories:
Contact Alison Keller with questions at (859) 514-9167 or akeller@amrms.com. HIMSS Annual Conference Wrap-UpChad Grant, NASCIO policy analyst, recently attended the 2011 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., and NASCIO Connections was able to catch up with him and get his general impressions on this year's agenda. HIMSS, a NASCIO strategic partner, announced a record-breaking 31,225 conference attendees. Q. So what were the speakers discussing as top issues at the 2011 HIMSS Annual Conference? A. There was a great agenda this year in Orlando and the educational sessions centered on current issues of focus for state CIOs. Many of the sessions looked at mobile technology and how it is playing a larger role in the healthcare industry, the use of cloud computing in designing IT infrastructure and architecture, designing and implementing a leading-edge health information exchange and how social media has started to be an asset in healthcare. Q. What speakers really captured your attention? A. Too many to list, but the sessions I took a lot away from were the CMS and ONC town hall meetings. They really provided a great overview of the states' roles in implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the use of ARRA funds. It was great to hear federal leaders putting such a strong emphasis on the use of standards to ensure that these systems will be interoperable at multiple levels. Q. The NASCIO Health Care Working Group completed a section-by-section review of the IT segments of the Affordable Care Act and is now working on an "action list" for state CIOs to follow when implementing a health insurance exchange. Were there any sessions at the HIMSS conference that focused on the health benefit exchanges? A. The health benefit exchanges were a hot topic for discussion, with so many factors still up in the air for states. Some of the key sessions discussed the legislative landscape, how states can structure an exchange and how states will design a sustainable model. Some of the follow-up calls with speakers have been very helpful as the working group continues to draft the action list. Getting Big Things Done in Government - NASCIO's 2011 Midyear Conference
Also on the program will be expert panels and speakers on topics ranging from "Online Trust: A National Imperative," to "On the Fence: State Reactions to the Affordable Care Act" to "Taking the Nebulous Out of the Cloud." Check out the session topics and register now. Visit the Midyear Conference Sponsor Resource Center to view the latest research and thought leadership from NASCIO's Midyear Conference sponsors. Simply click on a sponsor logo to see what that company is presenting, or look information up by topic. The resource center is easily searchable by keyword, so you can find exactly the right information. Check back frequently - additional materials will be added to the resource center regularly. It's not too late to sponsor! The deadline is April 6, 2011. Secure your sponsorship at www.nascio.org/events/2011midyear/sponsor.cfm or contact Shawn Vaughn, NASCIO's membership and communications coordinator, at svaughn@amrms.com. Whether you are joining us in Washington, D.C. or not, follow the conference on Twitter by using the conference hashtag #NASCIO11M. State Members: May 3 is Your DayNASCIO's upcoming Midyear Conference will feature a full day of content for state members only, Tuesday, May 3. Don't miss the chance to participate in key topic roundtables at the State Member Lunch and Discussion Forum (12:45 to 3 p.m.), engage in policy issues at the State Member Business Meeting (3:30 to 5 p.m.) and bond with counterparts at the private State Member Networking Reception (5 to 6 p.m.) All of these events are exclusively for state members. Please plan your conference travel accordingly. State CIOs: Increase Your Contacts and Policy Awareness at NASCIO's D.C. Fly-InNASCIO's D.C. Fly-In is back May 4 with a fresh format and special opportunity to network with federal counterparts. This year, for the first time, the Fly-In will include a roundtable meeting of state and federal CIOs. The two-hour meeting will be hosted by Vivek Kundra, federal CTO, at the White House conference center, and will include briefings from senior officials in the Obama Administration. The remainder of the Fly-In schedule will be focused on briefings from strategic partners and Hill staff, with a select few visits to the Hill to deliver NASCIO key policy messages. The Fly-In, which is incorporated into the Midyear Conference, is a key part of NASCIO's advocacy and government affairs outreach, designed to establish and strengthen relationships at the federal and strategic partner level. The Fly-In provides an opportunity to reinforce recognition of NASCIO as the primary resource for policy makers on state information technology policy and implementation. NASCIO's goal is to deliver the association's collective message on priority policy issues such as cyber security, IT funding reform, information sharing, health care IT, privacy and telecommunications reform. Briefings will allow members to learn what policymakers and strategic partners are thinking regarding critical IT issues. For more information and the general Fly-In schedule, visit https://www.nascio.org/events/2011Midyear/fly-in.cfm. The Fly-In is open to state CIOs, state policy leaders or their designated proxy only. Pre-registration is required to participate. Register now for the 2011 NASCIO Midyear Conference and Fly-In. Contact Pam Walker at pwalker@amrms.com or (202) 624-8477 if you have any questions. Watch on WashingtonUSDA Announces $25 Million for Community Connect Rural Broadband GrantsOn March 4, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utility Service (RUS) announced the availability of $25 million in grants to provide broadband access to rural areas that do not currently have broadband service. Funded through carryover balances from previous annual appropriations, the Community Connect grants are intended for eligible state, local governments, tribes and for-profit and non-profit organizations to construct, acquire or lease facilities to provide broadband services to homes, businesses and community facilities. Grants will range from $50,000 to $1.5 million and will require matching contributions. Applications are due to RUS by May 3, 2011. For more information, visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/ Three-Week Continuing Resolution PassesOn March 15, the House approved the sixth stop-gap funding measure (H.J. Res. 48). The bill includes $6 billion in cuts from current discretionary spending levels and will keep the government funded through April 8. The Senate passed the spending measure on March 17. The federal government has operated without a fiscal year 2011 budget for the past six months, and the House and Senate are under pressure to reach an agreement on a budget over the next three weeks. House and Senate leaders continue to work on a conciliation measure, despite some members showing no appetite for a compromise. If the deadline is missed, Congress will need to pass another CR or shut down the federal government. With Congress in recess this week, House and Senate leaders will continue negotiations away from Capitol Hill. In the meantime, negotiations continue over H.R. 1, a catch-all House-passed bill to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. The bill cuts more than $61 billion from discretionary programs. The House and Senate have only agreed on $10 billion of the reductions. A bipartisan group of 64 senators sent a letter to President Obama asking him to lead an all-inclusive discussion on comprehensive debt reductions, entitlements, tax reform and discretionary spending cuts. More Cybersecurity Legislation IntroducedOn March 16, Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) introduced a comprehensive cybersecurity bill (H.R. 1136) that would establish a national office to coordinate responses to internet attacks. The bill is similar to one introduced by Sens. Lieberman (D-CT) and Collins (R-ME) during the 111th Congress. The Executive Cyberspace Coordination Act would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to decide which private networks can be regulated as critical infrastructure. In addition, H.R. 1136 would create a National Office for Cyberspace to oversee efforts by federal agencies to protect against cyber attacks, ensure that the government buys the most advanced technology, and encourage a workforce trained to defend against online threats. In addition to establishing the cybersecurity office, the bill would:
In the meantime, Senate chairmen and ranking members with jurisdiction over cyber met on March 16 to compromise over the remaining issues. The Senate committees have decided to continue with a comprehensive approach. This is the opposite of House cyber leaders, who prefer to take a piecemeal approach and pass smaller bills. NASCIO In The News
CIO TransitionsMembers In The NewsNew MembersWe would like to welcome our newest members to NASCIO:City of Minneapolis, Minn. (Local Associate Member) Rose International (Corporate Member) 
COLORADOKristin Russell discusses her new role as CIO and Secretary of Technology for the state of Colorado.
OREGONDugan Petty, NASCIO vice president and Oregon CIO, has been working hard to provide transparency to the public through Data.Oregon.Gov.Committee & Work Group UpdatesThe Enterprise Architecture and Governance Committee rescheduled the Innovations Forum titled The State of Michigan Cloud Protection Program - Disaster Recovery Services: Preparing for the "Perfect Storm." This webinar is open to government only and will be held on March 29 from 2:00 to 3:00 Eastern. Innovations Forum guest presenters are Dan Lohrmann, CTO, Michigan, and Carol Steele Sherman, director of data center operations, Michigan. The forum will present Michigan's Government Cloud Protection Initiative and how it has employed a variety of technology strategies to enable government business goals and ensure continuity of government. Contact Eric Sweden, NASCIO senior enterprise architect, at esweden@amrms.com if you have questions. Innovations Forum future topics include the Kansas eDemocracy Initiative, National Labs Advancement of Business Analytics, Public Health Laboratories, the Utah Cloud Computing Initiative and Global Justice. Do you have ideas for future Innovative Forums? If so, contact Eric Sweden at esweden@amrms.com. The Health Care Working Group continues to draft an action list for state CIOs to use as guidance for the Affordable Care Acts. The March call will include Rob Waters, vice president of development at Healthcare IT Connect. In addition to continued collaboration with strategic partners, a draft of the NASCIO action list will be discussed. Following NASCIO's cyber security call-to-action, the Security and Privacy Committee is focusing on IT security risks that states need to manage. The Social Media Forum heard a presentation from Kelly Eubank, electronic records archivist for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, on best practices for protecting the privacy of users of government social media sites. The State Connectivity and Broadband Working Group continues discussion of consensus responses to Federal Communications Commission notices for public rulemaking relating to public safety interoperability and Universal Service Fund reform. The State Digital Identity Working Group hosted an informative PIV-I webinar on March 17 with the Smart Card Alliance Identity and Physical Access Councils. The event will be archived for both corporate and state members - look for it on the NASCIO website soon. The working group continues to harmonize with federal efforts and develop a roadmap for State Identity, Credential and Access Management (SICAM). The Tech America ID Management Committee has expressed interest in the SICAM development and NASCIO provided an overview during their March 22 meeting. NASCIO: Making ConnectionsKyle Schafer, NASCIO president and West Virginia CTO; Steve Fletcher, NASCIO past-president and Utah CIO; Mark Bengel, Tennessee CIO; and Pam Walker, NASCIO director of government affairs, will represent NASCIO at "Closing the Service Gap: Moving Toward a Performance-Based Framework" on March 25. Fletcher and Walker also attended the National Academy of Public Administration, the Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for The Business of Government's Executive Roundtable Discussion: Informing OMB's Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation. Walker recently represented NASCIO at the following meetings:
Walker will participate on a panel discussion with NGA, NCSL and NARUC at the NENA Next Generation Partner Program to discuss Next Generation 9-1-1 on March 28. Eric Sweden, NASCIO senior enterprise architect, and other members of the National Governors Association Justice Reference Architecture (JRA) Policy Academy Faculty are scheduled to provide an in-state policy workshop for the Tennessee JRA project team on March 25. The intent of the policy workshop is to begin intense work toward policy development with key stakeholders that have been identified as crucial to the implementation process. Tennessee is one of five states that have received U.S. Department of Justice funding through the NGA for a project related to adoption of the JRA for service oriented architecture. The other states in this particular policy academy are Alabama, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The selected states will share best practices and harness valuable new tools and resources available to help reduce inefficiencies and make beneficial, strategic policy decisions and investments in technology. In particular, the policy academy states will use the JRA, a framework developed and supported by the U.S. Department of Justice's Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative, which provides a way for states to standardize information sharing at all levels by looking at the components and agencies involved. A full description of this particular NGA Policy Academy can be found at: Mark Your CalendarUpcoming Committee Calls
Corporate Member Partner ProfilesEach month, NASCIO will randomly draw three corporate members to be featured in the monthly newsletter. To view a complete list of NASCIO's corporate partners, click here.Akamai Technologies
Alcatel-Lucent
CGI
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Now through June 1, NASCIO is accepting nominations for its prestigious Recognition Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology in State Government. The awards are an annual opportunity to acknowledge the best in state government IT innovation, as judged by an expert panel of peers. Last year, more than 120 applications were received. For complete details or to submit a nomination, visit www.nascio.org/awards.
Author John O'Leary has been selected to deliver the keynote address at the NASCIO 2011 Midyear Conference. O'Leary co-authored the Washington Post bestseller, "If We Can Put a Man on the Moon . . . Getting Big Things Done in Government" and is a research fellow at the Ash Institute of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
