Each year NASCIO conducts a survey of the state CIOs to identify and prioritize the top policy and technology issues facing state government. The CIOs top ten priorities are identified and used as input to NASCIO’s programs, planning for conference sessions, and publications.
Business analytics provides an evidence-based approach for decision making. With the current emphasis on transparency and visibility into the operations of government, government leaders need to anticipate more questions and evaluation related to not only what decisions are being made, but also what rationale was applied in making those decisions. As stated in this issue brief, intuition alone is not adequate for evaluating alternatives and making decisions. Effective implementation of a business analytics capability will promote an enterprise-wide culture of fact-based decision making. State government is encouraged to seriously look at business analytics as a means for fully understanding current circumstances and make predictions about the future. The predictive nature is particularly important as we continue to face ongoing fiscal challenges and increasing demand for state government services.
Transparency initiatives and websites are proliferating across government and industry globally. One aspect of the transparency trend is broader access to government data. NASCIO has published this report as initial guidance and recommendations to help state governments get started with data transparency portals. This guidance presents the value proposition along with principles and guidance on how states should move forward.
This issue brief presents the concept of frameworks that describes what constitutes a data governance program, with a focus on frameworks from the Data Management Association (DAMA), the Data Governance Institute (DGI), and IBM. Use of frameworks can assist state government in planning and executing on an effective data governance initiative. They assist in achieving completeness in a program. In any subject or discipline frameworks and maturity models assist in describing the scope – both breadth and depth – of an initiative. This holds true as well for data, information and knowledge management.
Data governance maturity models provide a foundational reference for understanding data governance and for understanding the journey that must be anticipated and planned for achieving effective governance of data, information and knowledge assets. This report continues to build on the concepts presented in Data Governance Part I. It presents a portfolio of data governance maturity models.
States continue to struggle with new challenges presented by a growing portfolio of electronic records and digital content that must be preserved. Within this context, the issue of electronic records management has emerged as a high-priority policy and technology issue for State CIOs. This issue is now driven by emerging trends such as of new Web 2.0 collaboration tools that create e-records in forms that are transitory, yet still document the business of government, the vulnerability of essential e-records during disasters and a growing emphasis on transparency and accountability in state government, including online public access to records on spending, performance, procurements and contracts. This research brief underscores the need for enterprise collaboration for e-records management, provides information on fundamental concerns, outlines a framework for action and provides best practice examples from the states.
Data governance entails a universe of concepts, principles, and tools intended to enable appropriate management and use of the state’s investment in information. Part I on data governance presents an introduction that describes the basic concepts. Governance, and particularly data governance, is an evolutionary process. It begins with an understanding of the current investment and then manages that investment toward greater value for the state.
Part III: Management Leads and Technology Follows – But Collaboration is King!
This research brief concludes the current NASCIO series on the subject of electronic records management and digital preservation. This subject area is very broad and has multiple dimensions, perspectives and challenges for the state IT community. The objective for the series is to highlight some of the key issues and make relevant recommendations to the state CIO. Ultimately, electronic records management and digital preservation must be a shared responsibility with understanding and support from the state CIO. Everyone within state government must play their part in managing the digital assets of the state.
Electronic Records Management and Digital Preservation: Protecting the Knowledge Assets of the State Government Enterprise
NASCIO continues its series on electronic records management and digital preservation with Part II which focuses on economic, legal, and organizational issues and recommended actions for State CIOs. Part II builds on the theme that the state CIO and the state enterprise architect will need to view electronic records management and digital preservation as disciplines that comprise an enterprise architecture domain. Partnering with the state’s archivists, librarians, and records managers to fully leverage their expertise will help ensure the state’s knowledge assets are managed for value with a long term view. eDiscovery and offshoring present significant challenges to the state enterprise. CIOs will need to build their awareness of these subject areas and author necessary compliance and risk management strategies.
Electronic Records Management and Digital Preservation: Protecting the Knowledge Assets of the State Government Enterprise PART I: Background, Principles and Action for State CIOs
Electronic records management and digital preservation are necessary disciplines for managing the knowledge assets of the enterprise. Attention to these disciplines must be part of every IT investment decision. The lifecycle of “born digital” is presented with emphasis on the decision making process at each major phase. The series will present the current issues and recommendations for action. This first release in this series deals with the principles of records management, and highlights the most significant challenges facing the states.
