NASCIO Announces Recipients for NASCIO 2023 State IT Recognition Awards

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Minneapolis, MN., Wednesday, October 11, 2023 —The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has announced recipients for the NASCIO 2023 State IT Recognition Awards. This year nearly 100 submissions were received from NASCIO member states and territories and over 80 NASCIO members served as volunteer judges.

The award nominations showcase the use of information technology to address critical business problems, more easily connect citizens to their government, improve business processes and create new opportunities that improve the lives of citizens. To ensure states have access to the innovations and leading practices of their peers, all award submissions have been added to NASCIO’s Awards Library.

NASCIO Awards Committee co-chairs, Tarek Tomes, commissioner and CIO for the State of Minnesota and Trina Zanow, CIO for the State of Wisconsin, announced the recipients at the awards and recognition dinner at the NASCIO 2023 Annual Conference.

Award recipients for the 2023 State IT Recognition Awards are:

Business Process Innovations
State of Michigan: Michigan All in for the User, Our HCD Strategy

Cross-Boundary Collaboration & Partnerships
State of North Carolina: NC eLink: Completing the Picture to Improve Constituent Services

Cybersecurity
State of Hawai’i: Surfing the Cyber Risk Monster Wave

Data Management, Analytics & Visualization
State of California: All-Hazards Dashboard

Digital Services: Government to Business
State of Tennessee: Transforming Agriculture Licensing & Permitting: Milking Enterprise Innovation for Streamlined Processes

Digital Services: Government to Citizen (3-way tie)
State of Minnesota: Delivering Swift Relief to Minnesota’s COVID-19 Frontline Workers
State of Ohio: Streamlining Access to Child Care Benefits
State of Tennessee: MyTN: Placing Government in the Palms of Citizen Hands

Emerging & Innovative Technologies
State of Minnesota: Digital Bridges: The Future is Here

Enterprise IT Management Initiatives
State of Indiana: SEAL: Continuing to Hire the Next IT Professionals

Information Communications Technology (ICT) Innovations
State of North Carolina: ATSC 3.0 in Public Safety Communications

State CIO Office Special Recognition
State of Minnesota: How AI Enhances Driver and Vehicle Services for Minnesota Residents

To review these and other submissions, please visit NASCIO’s Awards Library: www.NASCIO.org/awards.

 

Contact
Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]

NASCIO Honors New Hampshire Commissioner and CIO Denis Goulet with its Meritorious Service Award

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Minneapolis, MN., Wednesday, October 11, 2023, The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) recognized Denis Goulet, commissioner and chief information officer (CIO) for the State of New Hampshire, with the association’s Meritorious Service Award. NASCIO created the Meritorious Service Award several years ago, honoring leadership in state government and dedication to the advancement of NASCIO’s mission.

Denis Goulet’s leadership tenure has epitomized NASCIO’s unofficial motto of “expect surprises.” After serving on the executive committee for two years, Denis was elected Vice-President for the 2019-2020 program year. After about three and a half months, the president at the time accepted a new leadership assignment by his governor and Denis was elected president by his fellow executive committee members at the end of February 2020. Denis led the association through COVID-19 uncertainty and disruptions and carefully led the association through many tough decisions. His thoughtful, inclusive and measured leadership enabled NASCIO to not only survive during this time, but to provide new value to members and serve as a much-needed connection point.

In the midst of the uncertainty that the pandemic brought, Denis moved forward with his presidential priority of business relationship management which produced a publication and guide for states in this area. On behalf of NASCIO, Denis also testified before two subcommittees of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security, focusing on cybersecurity challenges facing states and local government systems and urging Congress to pass a dedicated cybersecurity grant program for state and local government. Denis has been fully engaged with NASCIO since his appointment as commissioner and CIO in New Hampshire. Outside of his tenure as president, Denis has served as a co-chair of the Awards Committee twice, is a frequent speaker at conferences, forums and webcasts and has often represented NASCIO at engagements with strategic partners.

His service to his home state of New Hampshire has also been exemplary. Following more than three decades at private-sector software companies, Denis was appointed commissioner of the Department of Information Technology for the state of New Hampshire in February 2015 by former Governor Maggie Hassan. He is now entering his fourth term, which is a relatively long tenure for a state CIO. During his time in office, Denis not only helped the state build its digital presence but provided pandemic leadership and crafted the first strategic IT plan for New Hampshire in more than a decade. Under Denis’ leadership the state has also vastly improved its cybersecurity posture, migrated toward more cloud platforms, implemented multi-agency/enterprise solutions and significantly upgraded its network systems and infrastructure.

 Contact
Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]

State CIOs Focus on People First in Meeting Current and Future IT Demands

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Minneapolis, MN., Tuesday, October 10, 2023 – The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released today the 2023 State CIO Survey, The Force of Automation and the Reality of Modernization. The report includes responses from 49 state CIOs on eight topics.

“This year’s survey focuses less on future plans and aspirations and more about what actions state CIOs are taking today,” said NASCIO Executive Director Doug Robinson. “But, we still left plenty of room for CIOs to contemplate the future of the CIO organization.”

The survey topics this year include some stalwarts like cybersecurity, emerging technology, cloud, legacy modernization and data management and also includes some topics with a new angle—some that might have been covered before, but with a new spin on the questions asked. The report also includes questions on workforce in many of its sections. Workforce challenges, including continuity of leadership, have and continue to have an impact on the state CIO’s ability to deliver services both now and in the future. There is also a focus on automation and, based on trending adoption, it is anticipated that there will be further utilization of automation tools and services to streamline business processes; enhance digital citizen experience; and strengthen states’ cybersecurity posture.

The complete report is available on NASCIO’s website www.nascio.org/resourcecenter.

Contact
Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]

NASCIO and Accenture Release Capitals in the Cloud Part II: Changing the Cloud Conversation

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, October 3, 2023 — Today the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and Accenture released the second in a series on the maturity of state government employment of cloud capabilities, Capitals in the Cloud Part II: Changing the Cloud Conversation. The study revisits the first in the series by NASCIO and Accenture, which was published in 2021, and created a baseline for evaluating the maturity of cloud adoption across state governments. This second report presents longitudinal analysis, patterns of success and recommendations for overcoming persistent barriers to change with cloud services.

“This report looks at progress that states have made in the past two years and recommendations for further progress,” said Doug Robinson, NASCIO executive director “It’s clear cloud services have become a critical component of the state CIO operational portfolio.”

State health and human service departments are the leading adopters of cloud computing. Many have implemented cloud solutions to enhance operations and service delivery, especially for benefits claims processing and case management-based workloads. Other state functions shifting to the cloud, but not as fast, are employment services, transportation, HR/workforce management and education.

“The move to cloud computing is about states striving to improve services and outcomes for citizens and better manage government operations within tight resource constraints,” said Anita Puri, Accenture Public Service global managing director. “It is an essential tool for state governments to become more adaptable and resilient in the face of continual change and volatility.”

Additional highlights from the report are:

  • 88% of state CIO respondents are expediting cloud adoption across operational domains.
  • 74% of respondents say security is the most important benefit of cloud computing.
  • 30% of respondents have completed a cloud strategy or roadmap, and the remaining 70% are actively developing strategies to optimize the cloud’s potential.
  • A substantial 60% of organizations have also incorporated cloud adoption into their enterprise IT governance process.
  • Hybrid and multi-cloud environments are increasingly common, with 23% of states’ total system and application catalogs utilizing Infrastructure as a Service and Software as a Service, double the level in 2021.
  • 53% of CIOs indicated workforce skill shortages and lack of staff are impeding their organization from adopting cloud services.

 

Contact
Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]

NASCIO, Center for Digital Government and IBM Release Report on Preparing for Future Shocks

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Lexington, KY., Thursday, September 28, 2023 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), the Center for Digital Government (CDG) and IBM today released a report entitled, Preparing for Future Shocks in State Government. The report is intended to help frame what future disruptions may look like for state chief information officers (CIOs) and how they can effectively tackle them.

 The report includes highlights of over twenty state CIO interviews on the topic of resilience. The interviews uncovered key themes about the threats state governments face and the tools, processes and resources CIOs need to build more resilient organizations. CIOs are facing issues from future public health crises and cyber threats to climate change, workforce shortages and disruptive new technologies. The research looked at how CIOs approach resilience from multiple perspectives: enterprise resilience, IT resilience, workforce and employee resilience and personal resilience.

Doug Robinson, NASCIO Executive Director, commented, “The past few years have presented a multitude of challenges and increased demands on state CIOs. State CIOs have had to be resilient in the face of uncertainty to lead their organizations.

“Responsible AI and Automation are essential elements of state leaders’ IT modernization strategies as they strengthen resiliency,” said Frank Attaie, General Manager for IBM’s U.S. Public Market. “This roadmap will help state CIOs as they extend their capabilities and agility in responding to future disruptions and we look forward to collaborating with them.”

“CIOs play an important and unique role in state government resilience,” said CDG Senior Vice President Teri Takai. “Our research shows they are working closely with traditional emergency management teams for both cyber incident response and physical disaster recovery. They are at the forefront of confronting public sector talent shortages, and leading statewide discussions around technology modernization to reduce threats to critical government services.”

To read the publication, visit NASCIO’s Resource Center.

 

 

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About NASCIO 

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers is the premier network and resource for state CIOs and a leading advocate for technology policy at all levels of government. NASCIO represents state chief information officers and information technology executives from the states, territories, and the District of Columbia. For more information about NASCIO visit www.nascio.org. 

 

AMR Management Services provides NASCIO’s executive staff.  For more information about AMR visit www.AMRms.com. 

 

Contact
Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]

 

About CDG

The Center for Digital Government (CDG) is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Through its diverse and dynamic programs and services, the Center provides public and private sector leaders with decision support, knowledge, and opportunities to help them effectively incorporate new technologies in the 21st century.

About IBM

IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

NASCIO Issues Presidential Report on Citizen-Centric Digital Experience

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, September 26, 2023—Today, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released Creating a Citizen-Centric Digital Experience – How Far Have We Come? This report is a current snapshot of where states are in their journey toward improving the citizen digital experience and a 2023 Presidential Initiative from NASCIO President and Tennessee Chief Information Officer Stephanie Dedmon.

President Dedmon stated, “I made citizen-centric digital experience my presidential priority because the demands placed on states to deliver these types of services cannot be understated. My goal is to provide a roadmap and recommendations for state CIOs on how to improve digital government services in their states.”

The publication looks back at NASCIO’s 2001 report on this same topic to see what themes remain and what improvements have been made. This research examines the challenges of providing digital government services (workforce, budget, lack of cohesiveness across state agencies), the current state of the citizen digital experience, and six calls to action for states. The calls to action encourage states to create an enterprise vision and strategic roadmap; engage stakeholders; prioritize cybersecurity, privacy and identity management; embrace “no wrong door”; create a promotional agenda; and look toward the future to create sustainable funding and metrics.

The publication can be found on NASCIO’s website: www.nascio.org.

 

 

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About NASCIO 

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers is the premier network and resource for state CIOs and a leading advocate for technology policy at all levels of government. NASCIO represents state chief information officers and information technology executives from the states, territories, and the District of Columbia. For more information about NASCIO visit www.nascio.org. 

 

AMR Management Services provides NASCIO’s executive staff.  For more information about AMR visit www.AMRms.com. 

 

Contact
Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]

NASCIO Announces Finalists for 2023 NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, September 12, 2023 —The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has selected 31 finalists across 10 categories for the State IT Recognition Awards. Projects and initiatives from NASCIO member states and territories were eligible for nomination. Over 80 NASCIO members served as volunteer judges to review the nearly 100 submissions, narrowing the nominees down to three finalists in each category (with exceptions for ties). From these finalists, a recipient from each category will be announced during the NASCIO Annual Conference in October.  

The award nominations showcase the use of information technology to address critical business problems, more easily connect citizens to their government, improve business processes and create new opportunities that improve the lives of citizens. To ensure states have access to the innovations and leading practices of their peers, all award submissions have been added to NASCIO’s Awards Library. 

 

Award finalists for the 2023 State IT Recognition Awards are:

Business Process Innovations 

State of Michigan: Michigan All in for the User, Our HCD Strategy 

State of Ohio: Paper is Dead, Long Live Digital Transformation! 

State of Tennessee: One DHS Omnichannel Customer Support 

 

Cross-Boundary Collaboration & Partnerships 

State of Ohio: A Focus on Human-Centered Design 

State of North Carolina: NC eLink: Completing the Picture to Improve Constituent Services 

State of Texas: Boots on the Ground: Texas Regional Security Operations Center Pilot Project 

 

Cybersecurity 

State of Hawai’i: Surfing the Cyber Risk Monster Wave 

State of Illinois: The Zero Trust League Superheroes of Cybersecurity 

State of Minnesota: Expanded Cybersecurity Protections to Counties, Cities, and Tribal Nations 

 

Data Management, Analytics & Visualization 

State of California: All-Hazards Dashboard 

State of Michigan: Peak Performance Unleashed: Harnessing Metrics for Success 

State of Minnesota: Empowering Communities through Transparency and Crime Data 

 

Digital Services: Government to Business 

State of Minnesota: Farmlink: Facilitating Connections to Keep Minnesota Farms Thriving 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: PA Preferred Program Solution 

State of Tennessee: Transforming Agriculture Licensing & Permitting: Milking Enterprise Innovation for Streamlined Processes 

 

Digital Services: Government to Citizen 

State of Minnesota: Delivering Swift Relief to Minnesota’s COVID-19 Frontline Workers 

State of Ohio: Streamlining Access to Child Care Benefits  

State of Tennessee: MyTN: Placing Government in the Palms of Citizen Hands 

 

Emerging & Innovative Technologies  

State Colorado: myColorado Chatbot: Get Answers Your Way 

State of Michigan: Michigan Automated Incident Detection 

State of Minnesota: Digital Bridges: The Future is Here 

State of Ohio: Keeping Ohioans Connected 

 

Enterprise IT Management Initiatives 

State of California: Technology for Incarcerated Population 

State of Indiana: SEAL: Continuing to Hire the Next IT Professionals 

State of Tennessee: Harnessing the Power of Process Automation for Tennessee 

 

Information Communications Technology (ICT) Innovations  

State of Florida: From Zero to Real-Time in 4 Days: Real-Time Messaging to Transform Emergency Response, Cybersecurity and More 

State of Minnesota: The App that Connects Job Seekers with Services They Need 

State of North Carolina: ATSC 3.0 in Public Safety Communications 

 

State CIO Office Special Recognition 

State of Minnesota: How AI Enhances Driver and Vehicle Services for Minnesota Residents 

State of North Carolina: NC OneMap: a Unified Open Data Platform Closing the Digital Divide  

State of Tennessee: Empowering the Future: Tennessee Explores IT Workforce Professional Development Initiatives 

 

 

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About NASCIO 

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers is the premier network and resource for state CIOs and a leading advocate for technology policy at all levels of government. NASCIO represents state chief information officers and information technology executives from the states, territories, and the District of Columbia. For more information about NASCIO visit www.nascio.org. 

 

AMR Management Services provides NASCIO’s executive staff.  For more information about AMR visit www.AMRms.com. 

 

Contact
Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]

Public Sector Workforce Summit

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Event Hosted by the Government Finance Officers Association, National Association of State Treasurers, Public Sector HR Association, MissionSquare Research Institute, National Association of State Chief Information Officers 

 

Washington, D.C. — (August 3, 2023) — State and local government leaders will gather in Washington, D.C., on August 15, 2023, to examine key long-term public sector workforce challenges. The convening comes as the participating organizations have researched and identified a pervasive problem for the public sector workforce–talent is scarce.

A Solutions-based Approach to Attracting Talent in Public Finance and Information Technology in the State and Local Sector will bring together a diverse mix of strategic thinkers to discuss new approaches currently being implemented to build the public sector workforce of tomorrow.

Speakers include:

  • Laura Allen, President, Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
  • Chris Morill, Executive Director/CEO, Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
  • Deanna Santana, Acting CEO and President, MissionSquare Retirement
  • Shaun Snyder, Executive Director, National Association of State Treasurers (NAST)
  • Meredith Ward, Deputy Executive Director, National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)
  • Cara Woodson Welch, CEO, Public Sector HR Association (PSHRA)
  • Gerald Young, Senior Research Analyst, MissionSquare Research Institute

Learn more about the event here.

What:

  • A Solutions-Based Approach to Attracting Talent in Public Finance and Information Technology in the State and Local Sector 

When and Where:     

  • The event is scheduled for August 15 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am (Eastern) at the National City County Leadership Center located at 660 N. Capitol Street, NW, 1st Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001.

Hosts:

Registration:

  • There is no charge to attend, but space is limited so register early. Breakfast will be available, sponsored by MissionSquare Retirement.
  • Attendees and media interested in attending the event are invited to register here.

 Contact: 

  • For more information about the event, please contact:
    Natalie Laudadio
    312.578.2298
    [email protected]

NASCIO Members Give Back During NASCIO 2023 Midyear Conference

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, May 16, 2023 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) donated over $35,900 to City Gate as part of the association’s Give Back program. City Gate is a Washington, DC-area nonprofit working to engage and empower at-risk youth and families impacted by poverty. Their STEAM-focused curriculum provides children with hands on learning, critical thinking skills and future career opportunities. NASCIO’s 2023 Midyear Conference was held in the DC area earlier this month.

Donations were collected during the NASCIO 2023 Midyear Conference and NASCIO state, corporate and nonprofit members donated through individual contributions. NASCIO corporate members Carahsoft Technology Corp., Esri, Kyndryl, Lenovo US, Lookout and Tyler Technologies sponsored this year’s Give Back Program and contributed to the donation total.

Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]

NASCIO Technology Champion Award Honors Texas State Representative Giovanni Capriglione

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, May 2, 2023 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has awarded Texas State Representative Giovanni Capriglione with the association’s 2023 Technology Champion Award. Representative Capriglione was nominated by Amanda Crawford, Texas State CIO, who described him as, “an unmatched innovator whose contributions have advanced state government information technology across multiple fields.” Crawford also described Representative Capriglione as, “a tireless advocate for cybersecurity, legacy modernization, data management and the need to protect Texans’ privacy.”

Representative Capriglione has been the critical champion of state IT in the Texas House of Representatives since he was elected to the Texas House in 2012. He has worked to pass legislation to require cybersecurity training and incident reporting by state and local governments; pushed for and achieved increased funding for cybersecurity and legacy modernization (including spending increases for consolidation and optimization); created the Texas Cybersecurity Council; passed data management legislation; and increased focus on data privacy initiatives.

NASCIO created the Technology Champion Award in 2003 to recognize outstanding individual contributions to the field of information technology in the public sector. Recipients further NASCIO’s vision of a government in which the public is fully served through the efficient and effective use of technology policy.

Learn more about the NASCIO Technology Champion award and prior recipients at www.nascio.org/awards.

Meredith Ward
Deputy Executive Director
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209
[email protected]