State CIOs Resilient as COVID-19 Impacts Government Operations in 2020

Oct. 13, 2020, Washington, D.C. — In the face of a pandemic that was affecting almost every aspect of life for citizens, businesses and governments, state chief information officers (CIOs) acted and adjusted with stability, resiliency and flexibility, according to the 2020 State CIO Survey, The Agile State CIO: Leading in a Time of Uncertainty. The report examines the critical issues related to COVID-19 and other challenges facing state CIOs such as state and local collaboration, broadband, digital government, disaster recovery and privacy. The CIO survey, which has been published annually for the last 11 years, includes responses from 47 state and territory CIOs and was released by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), Grant Thornton LLC and CompTIA.

“State CIOs have certainly faced new challenges in 2020,” NASCIO Executive Director Doug Robinson commented. “Their experiences will inform how state IT operates—from changing business models to digital government to disaster recovery and business continuity—for the near and long term.”

“As the pandemic accelerated in the United States, State CIOs quickly realized they would become the lynchpin not only for facilitating increased remote citizen services, but also for the core responsibility of allowing state employees to continue to work and collaborate remotely,” said Graeme Finley, principal at Grant Thornton

“The role of the state CIO has never been more vital to how government agencies deliver services to their constituents,” added Jordan Kroll, Director of Public Sector at CompTIA. “COVID-19 also has changed how governments work with more and more agencies deploying remote working programs to keep operations running and staff safe.”

The 2020 State CIO Survey also highlights CIO organization business models and the adoption of cloud and emerging technologies within state government. The complete report, The Agile State CIO: Leading in a time of uncertainty, is available on the NASCIO website (www.NASCIO.org).

Contact
Meredith Ward
Director of Policy and Research
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
859.514.9209

Jennifer Kerber
Grant Thornton LLC
703.635.3037
[email protected]

Roger Hughlett
CompTIA,
202.503.3644
[email protected]