NASCIO Champions National Cyber Security Awareness Month

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, September 22 — In support of the 12th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has partnered with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, and the National Cybersecurity Alliance, to promote cyber awareness, safety, and security during the month of October. 

To mark the annual awareness month, NASCIO today released its 2015 edition of the State Cybersecurity Resource Guide to observe the awareness, training, and educational initiatives available throughout the states. The updated guide includes new information from state technology offices and provides listings of state awareness programs and initiatives, links to state security awareness pages, and contact information for the state chief information security officer. 

“Cybersecurity remains a top issue for state CIOs and their staff,” said Doug Robinson, NASCIO executive director. “We applaud the states for their commitment to cyber awareness and for bringing attention to the importance of online safety and security by hosting and highlighting their own state programs and resources throughout the month of October.”

The 2015 NASCIO Cybersecurity Awareness Resource Guide, along with additional cybersecurity resources and advocacy efforts, may be found on NASCIO’s Cybersecurity Awareness resource page at www.nascio.org/cybersecurity. 

To learn more about participating in National Cyber Security Awareness Month, please visit www.staysafeonline.org. 

NASCIO Issues Part II of Guidance for State CIOs on IT Accessibility

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The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) today released part II of a brief on accessibility in information technology (IT) procurement. Part I, released in July, 2015, introduced a new, policy-driven approach to information and communications technology (ICT) accessibility for state CIOs, procurement organizations, and vendors. Part II includes states in practice and adoption information for states.
NASCIO has long advocated for a broad interpretation of enterprise architecture and a governance model with a connection to business processes and a roadmap that informs both the state’s procurement of IT and the supplier community. One issue that has not received enough attention and is an imperative in today’s society is accessibility in ICT and the process to integrate these requirements in state government procurement.
“As significant buyers of information and communications technology, states have an obligation to set the public policy direction and the opportunity to stimulate the capabilities of the supplier community,” said NASCIO Executive Director Doug Robinson.
Policy-Driven Adoption for Accessibility (PDAA) can help strategically drive a culture of accessibility, generating accessible products and services. The benefits of using PDAA tools include improving marketability and reducing risk to both vendors and procurement organizations by addressing inclusiveness and equal opportunity in the digital age.
Read the brief at www.NASCIO.org/PDAA.

NASCIO Recognizes Outstanding Achievements in State IT: Finalists Announced for 2015 NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, August 11 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has selected 44 IT initiatives in 11 categories as finalists for the State IT Recognition Awards. This year’s high quality of nominations shows that states continue to innovate and achieve great results.

The prestigious awards program, in its 27th consecutive year, honors outstanding information technology achievements in the public sector. Four finalists have been named in each award category; one initiative per category will be announced as the award recipient at the upcoming NASCIO Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Projects and initiatives from NASCIO member states, territories, and the District of Columbia were eligible for nomination.  Finalists were selected by the NASCIO Awards Committee from a field of more than 100 nominees.

“Unlike many award programs that honor state IT projects, NASCIO awards are determined by peer review,” said James “Bo” Reese, CIO for the state of Oklahoma and Awards Committee co-chair.  “I believe this distinction is very meaningful to award finalists; it is a nod from your colleagues nation-wide that says you’re doing amazing work.”

“The importance of the awards program for state information technology at large is confirmed by the number of NASCIO members who take the time to volunteer as judges,” said James Collins, CIO of the state Delaware and Awards Committee co-chair.  “All of the nominations exemplify the vital, and often unsung, role IT plays in state government.  The judges have a tough job in narrowing them down.”

To ensure states can access the innovations and best practices of their peers, details about all nominated projects are posted on NASCIO’s website, www.NASCIO.org.

Awards finalists in the 2015 program are as follows:

Cross Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships
State of Colorado: Universal Application
State of Iowa: Iowa Property Tax Reform
State of North Dakota: Health Information Network
State of Ohio: Health & Human Services Transformation

Cybersecurity
State of Colorado: Secure Colorado – Achieving Quick and Sustainable Risk Reduction
State of Idaho: Cyber Security Program
State of Michigan: Michigan Cyber Disruption Response Strategy
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Advanced Cyber Analytics Improves Pennsylvania’s Cybersecurity Intelligence and Response Program

Digital Government to Business (G2B)
State of Kansas: Kansas Business Center
Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Enhancing the State’s Healthcare Landscape through Trusted Information Exchange
State of Missouri: Geosciences Technical Resource Assessment Tool (GeoSTRAT)
Commonwealth of Virginia: Enhancing Customer Service through the Mobile Collectors Application

Digital Government to Citizen (G2C)
State of Arkansas: Mobile Filing System Enables Arkansans to Receive 172% More Unclaimed Property
State of Minnesota: MPARS Permitting and Reporting System
Commonwealth of Virginia: Electronic Death Registration and Birth Certificates on Demand
State of Washington: Customer-Focused Service Enhancements to Online Tax Filing System

Disaster Recovery/Security & Business Continuity Readiness
State of Delaware: Combined Disaster Recovery and Continuity of Operations Program
State of Oregon: Oregon-Montana Disaster Recovery Phases 1 & 2
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: All Eyes – A Security Breach Exercise
Commonwealth of Virginia: Disaster Recovery/Continuity in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Emerging & Innovative Technologies
State of Colorado: PEAKHealth Mobile Application
State of Minnesota: Crowdsourcing Minnesota’s Unsession
State of Oregon: OReGO – Oregon Road Usage Charge
State of Washington: COBOL to Cloud – Transparent, Real-Time Change Detection and Data Exchange from On-Premises Legacy Mainframe System to Software as a Service

Enterprise IT Management Initiatives
State of Michigan: IT Investment Fund – Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability
State of Ohio: IT Optimization – Driving Business Value
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: PA Treasury Transformation and Modernization Project
Commonwealth of Virginia: Strategic Planning with Security as a Priority

Improving State Operations
State of California: Strategic Offender Management System Project
State of Idaho: Internet Unemployment System (iUS)
Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Preventing Healthcare Fraud through Predictive Modeling
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: PennDOT Mobile Highway Construction App

Information Communications Technology Innovations
District of Columbia: Citywide Wireless
State of Minnesota: Workforce One Re-write
State of Utah: Utah Hunting and Fishing
State of Wyoming: Wyoming Unified Network a Leap into a New Era

Open Government Initiatives
State of Michigan: Enterprise Information Management
State of North Dakota: North Dakota eTranscript System
State of Texas: Texas Open Data Portal
Commonwealth of Virginia: VA Roads – Virginia’s Portal for Map-Based Transportation Information

Special CIO Recognition Award
State of California: Project Academy Series
State of North Carolina: North Carolina Innovation Center
State of Oklahoma: IT Unification – Phase I
State of Washington: Prioritization of Information Technology Budget Requests

NASCIO Issues Guidance for State CIOs on IT Accessibility

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To mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) today released a brief on accessibility in information technology (IT) procurement. This is the first brief in a two-part publication on accessibility in procurement. Part II, to be released in August, will include states in practice and adoption information for states.

This initial brief introduces a new, policy-driven approach to information and communications technology accessibility for state CIOs, procurement organizations, and vendors. Policy-Driven Adoption for Accessibility (PDAA) can help strategically drive a culture of accessibility, generating accessible products and services. The benefits of using PDAA tools include improving marketability and reducing risk to both vendors and procurement organizations by addressing inclusiveness and equal opportunity in the digital age.

“States have laws in place that apply to accessibility, but have often struggled to address accessibility requirements as part of IT procurements. State CIOs, working alongside state procurement officials, have a real opportunity to change the current accessibility landscape to better benefit the citizens they serve,” said Doug Robinson, NASCIO executive director.

NASCIO has long advocated for a broad interpretation of enterprise architecture and a governance model with a connection to business processes and a roadmap that informs both the state’s procurement of IT and the supplier community. This approach will inform the marketplace regarding the state’s policy intentions, guide investments, and reduce potential risks of poor outcomes.

Read the brief at www.NASCIO.org/PDAA.

Robinson Receives CoSA 2015 Advocacy for Archives Award

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Monday, July 27, 2015 — Doug Robinson, Executive Director of AMR client the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, has been honored by the Council of State Archivists as one of two recipients of CoSA’s 2015 Advocacy for Archives Award.

The award recognizes individuals providing strong support of state archives and records management programs as well as the work of the Council of State Archivists. Anne W. Ackerson, Executive Director of CoSA, said, “Doug has a deep understanding of the role of archivists and records managers as part of technology governance and operation. Additionally, he shares that understanding not only with members of his own organization, but also with other associations and government officials. He has been instrumental in providing information to state and local government archivists and records managers so that they can better understand the evolving technology landscape in the states.”

Robinson has been an enthusiastic participant and advisor on several important CoSA initiatives, serving on the advisory board for the Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER) project and on the initial advisory board that helped formulate the areas of concentration for the State Electronic Records Initiative (SERI). “Doug has been an incredible leader for NASCIO and an asset for AMR for more than a decade,” noted AMR President and COO, Nick Ruffin, CAE. “This recognition serves to illustrate his continued commitment to educating and informing state leaders.”

Yejin Cooke Joins the National Association of State Chief Information Officers as Director of Government Affairs

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LEXINGTON, Ky., Thursday, July 23, 2015 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has welcomed Yejin Cooke as the new director of government affairs. In this role, Cooke will be responsible for advancing NASCIO’s federal advocacy agenda, policy positions, and strengthening the association’s alliances with key strategic partners. She will also work to ensure state chief information officer perspectives are represented in shaping federal legislation and policies on key state IT issues.

“Yejin’s background, skills and experience are ideal for representing our association and advocating NASCIO’s positions,” said Doug Robinson, NASCIO executive director.

Cooke is formerly an associate legislative director at the National Association of Counties (NACo) where she managed a broad portfolio of issues related to telecommunications, broadband, FirstNet, cybersecurity, public safety, emergency management, and homeland security.

Cooke began her duties on July 15 and will be located in NASCIO’s Washington DC office at the Hall of States, 444 North Capitol Ave NW, Suite 642, Washington, DC 20001. She can be reached at [email protected].

State CIOs Face Significant Challenges in Making the Right IT Investments: NASCIO- Infosys Public Services Survey

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Majority of investments directed to maintaining overly comlex IT systems, leaving little for building a stable enterprise systems foundation or for innovation

LEXINGTON, Ky., July 9, 2015 – State IT departments generally understand the value of operating more like an enterprise and less like a collection of independent agencies. However, the transition to an enterprise-like state is difficult as they struggle to imlement the necessary changes to imrove efficiency, drive innovation and ultimately save taxayers’ dollars, according to a survey commissioned by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and Infosys Public Services, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Infosys.

Doug Robinson, Executive Director, NASCIO, said: “While state IT departments are starting to address shortcomings in their decision criteria and processes, there is still a lot to be done. Accelerating the pace of change will require principled direction, well-defined operating schemes, and improved investment in management practices.”

Most state IT organizations have comlex systems environments, which are a result of years of decentralized decision-making among numerous agencies with disparate goals. These present a serious barrier for states in adopting change. Moreover, nearly half (45%) of the CIOs indicated that they are sending more than 80 cents of every budget dollar on maintaining existing systems. Thus, they are limited in their ability to invest in innovative solutions to boost business effectiveness and efficiency.

Additional challenges — such as lack of definition of business princiles, process standardization and integration, and systems platforms — mean that state CIOs aren’t always confident that they are “working on the right things” when making IT investment decisions.

Eric Paternoster, President and CEO, Infosys Public Services, said: “State CIOs are telling us that feeling confident about ‘working on the right things’ is a much bigger challenge for them than ‘working on things the right way’. We launched this survey to help state CIOs identify the issues that would imrove their decision-making processes and overall efficiency. Getting this clarity is critical to driving innovation and ultimately saving taxayers’ money.”

Read highlights and the comlete study at www.nascio.org/RightThings and www.infosysublicservices.com/RightThings.

Secretary of Technology and State Chief Information Officer Suma Nallapati, Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology, Profiled in NASCIO State CIOs Make a Difference Campaign

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LEXINGTON, Ky., July 6, 2015 – The Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) and Secretary of Technology and Chief Information Officer Suma Nallapati are focusing on daily innovations and getting back to the basics  to improve customer experience for citizens in Colorado.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) will feature Nallapati and the Colorado OIT’s initiatives and core mission over the last two weeks of its State CIOs Make a Difference campaign. Nallapati and the OIT’s profile will specifically highlight the Colorado Benefits Management System and work done to safeguard citizen’s sensitive data through Colorado’s Risk and Audit Committee. For Colorado, getting “back to basics” ensures customer service is at the core of all innovations.

“Innovation means better solutions – from effective, efficient, elegant and sustainable solutions to the most critical challenges in areas such as transportation, education and healthcare,” said Nallapati.

To learn more about Nallapati and the work of the Colorado OIT, see the information sheet provided. Visit the campaign website atwww.nascio.org/CIOsMakeaDifference and follow #StateCIOsRock for campaign highlights and updates.

Chief Information Officer Paul Baltzell and the Indiana Office of Technology Make a Difference through Data Analytics

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LEXINGTON, Ky., June 22, 2015 – State Chief Information Officer (CIO) Paul Baltzell and the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) are the most recent state technology officials to be featured in the State CIOs Make a Difference campaign due to the profound impact the state is making in citizen lives through the use of technology and data analytics.

Over the next two weeks, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) will profile the initiatives and accomplishments of Baltzell and the IOT to bring recognition to the valuable role CIOs and information technology play in states. Baltzell and the IOT’s campaign profile will specifically highlight the research and efforts to identify a high-risk population for infant mortality in order to target intervention programs and improve survival rates among infants in the state.

“We are affecting things that really matter,” said Baltzell, “and maybe we can actually save a child’s life.”

The state’s profile will also include information on Governor Mike Pence’s Management and Performance Hub – a system that allows agencies across state government to better share and study data – as well as plans for future projects.

To learn more about Baltzell and the work of IOT, see the information sheet provided and visit the campaign website at www.nascio.org/CIOsMakeaDifference. Follow #StateCIOsRock for updates on other featured CIOs in the coming weeks.

Chief Information Officer for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Featured in NASCIO State CIOs Make a Difference Campaign

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LEXINGTON, Ky., June 8, 2015 – The work and leadership of Jim Fowler, chief information officer (CIO) for the commonwealth of Kentucky is the current focus of the ongoing State CIOs Make a Difference campaign. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) will profile the initiatives and accomplishments of CIO Jim Fowler and the Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) over the next two weeks to bring recognition to the valuable role of CIOs and information technology in the states.

Fowler and the COT’s campaign profile will specifically highlight the restructuring of the commonwealth’s IT infrastructure resources and services, including the consolidation initiative to assist agencies in focusing IT efforts on public services and business operations. Other highlights of the campaign include the commonwealth’s communication efforts between agencies, the Kentucky Business One-Stop portal, and plans of extending high-speed broadband access to the furthest reaches of Kentucky.
 
While the country tuned in over the weekend to watch Kentucky-bred American Pharoah achieve the Triple Crown, Fowler is looking to bring another type of well-deserved attention to the citizens of Kentucky.
“We’re in the race to make sure Kentucky’s technology future is fast and bright,” said Fowler. “We’re making a winning bet on that future and we’re not slowing down.”
 
The NASCIO State CIOs Make a Difference campaign emphasizes the innovative work and important role CIOs hold in both government operations and lives of citizens. For more information on Fowler and the work of COT, see the information sheet provided and visit www.nascio.org/CIOsMakeaDifference. Follow #StateCIOsRock for updates on other states and territories to be featured in the coming weeks.