NASCIO Launches Inaugural CISO Scholarship Program

/in /by

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. Wednesday, October 16 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), awarded the Thomas M. Jarrett State Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Conference Scholarship to three deserving CISO’s during the 2013 Annual Conference in Philadelphia.

2013 is the year of inception for this program, which was created to pay homage to Thomas M. Jarrett, past president of NASCIO (2004 – 2005), for his passion for cybersecurity. The scholarship grants current CISO's the opportunity to attend the NASCIO Annual Conference.

Due to their dedication and leadership in cybersecurity, the following individuals were selected to receive the scholarship:

John Byers, Chief Information Security Officer, State of Kansas

Brian Engle, Director and Chief Information Security Officer, State of Texas

David Brown, Chief Information Security Officer, State of Ohio

NASCIO Recognizes Exceptional Contributions in State Government

/in /by

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Tuesday, October 15 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) honored Scott Gessler, Colorado Secretary of State and Selvi Stanislaus, Executive Officer, State of California, Franchise Tax Board, with the association’s State Technology Innovator award. The awards were presented during NASCIO’s 2013 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pa.

To encourage valid voter registration and reduce the potential for fraud and abuse of the system, Secretary of State Scott Gessler spearheaded a focused effort to make registering to vote more accessible and voter rolls more accurate in the state of Colorado. To make registering to vote easier and more accessible, Secretary Gessler and his office developed the first mobile-optimized voter registration site in the country. GoVoteColorado.com enabled Coloradans to register to vote through their mobile device for the 2012 election and avoid the inconvenient trip to the post office.

Stanislaus extraordinary efforts helped the nation’s most populous state close its tax gap and get on with the critical work of service delivery for all Californians. She leads the nation’s second largest tax department with over 5,300 permanent and 2,000 seasonal and intermittent employees nationwide. Under Stanislaus’ leadership, Franchise Tax Board (FTB) brings in roughly $55 billion annually—more than 65 percent of California’s annual General Fund revenue. Each year, FTB processes more than 17 million personal income tax returns and more than 1 million business entity tax returns.

Nominations were gathered from NASCIO members as well as non-members. NASCIO presents the State Technology Innovator Award on an annual basis to recognize state leaders who steadily promote innovation, excellence and good government. Nominees must be an employee of, elected official, appointed official or other appointee representing state government.

NASCIO Honors Dugan Petty CIO for Exceptional Service in State Government

/in /by

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Tuesday, October 15 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) recognizes Dugan Petty, past NASCIO president and former chief information officer (CIO) for the State of Oregon, with the association’s Meritorious Service Award. Petty was honored during a special ceremony last night at the NASCIO Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pa.

To spotlight outstanding service, NASCIO created the Meritorious Service Award, honoring leadership in state government and dedication to the advancement of NASCIO's mission. The association’s achievements have largely been the product of the enthusiasm, focus and dedicated service of its members, and in turn, this commitment to excellence has served as a catalyst to redefine the role of technology at the federal, state and local levels.

Petty’s service as CIO of the State of Oregon began in 2006, where he led the creation and execution of Oregon’s enterprise-level information resource strategy aimed at reducing costly duplication of efforts and resources. Before becoming the state CIO of Oregon, Dugan directed state contracting and procurement, risk management, and served as the deputy administrator for the State Services Division. He has led a number of enterprise level initiatives in Oregon. He previously served on several committees with NASCIO including vice president for the association, chair of the Programs Committee, co-chair of the Enterprise Architecture and Governance Committee and chair of the Green IT Committee.

“As the NASCIO president and a previous recipient of the NASCIO Meritorious Award, it is my great honor to present Dugan with this prestigious award,” said Brenda Decker, NASCIO president and Nebraska chief information officer.

NASCIO Recognizes Outstanding Achievement in State Government Receipients Announced for 2013 NASCIO Recognition Awards

/in /by

LEXINGTON, Ky., Monday October 14 — Eleven exemplary initiatives were chosen as recipients for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ (NASCIO) 2013 Recognition Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology in State Government.

According to NASCIO, innovation and excellence continue to thrive in state government. These projects demonstrate that states strive to support the public policy goals of state leaders, provide cost-effective service to citizens, and make available solutions that are transferable to other agencies or units of government.

Celebrating 25 years, the NASCIO awards program will recognize one project in each category with this prestigious award during the State Dinner and Awards Presentation at the 2013 NASCIO Annual Conference on October 14.

The 2013 awards recipients are as follows:

Cross-Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships
Nebraska: Network Nebraska-Education

Data, Information and Knowledge Management
Michigan: Unemployment Insurance Agency Overpayment Recovery

Digital Government: Government to Business
California: Electronic Services Expansion Project

Digital Government: Government to Citizen
Massachusetts: mTicketing for Commuter Rail and Ferry Services

Enterprise IT Management Initiatives
Minnesota: Managing State IT Through Service Level Agreement: An Unprecedented Journey

Fast Track Solutions
Utah: Legislative Bill Watch

Improving State Operations
California: Business Information System Project

Information Communications Technology Innovations
Hawai’i: Mobile Emergency Response and Command Interface (MERCI)

Open Government Initiatives
Utah: Utah’s Open Transportation Data in the Cloud with uGate and UPlan

Cybersecurity
Michigan: Cyber Training 3.0: New Solutions Addressing Escalating Security Risks

State CIO Office Special Recognition
Virginia: eGov Business Process Re-engineering

This is the 25th anniversary for the awards program. The Awards Committee, comprised of judges from NASCIO’s state and corporate members, selected the 2013 award finalists. Full submissions from over 100 nominations are posted on NASCIO’s website at www.nascio.org/awards.  

The State CIO: Partnering to Drive Innovation

/in /by

LEXINGTON, Ky., Monday, October 14 — One of the National Association of State Chief Information Officer’s (NASCIO) guiding principles is to “promote the CIO as the technology leader who drives innovation and transformation.” To advance this belief, the NASCIO CIO Leadership Working Group explored the various structures and relationships of the state CIO’s role and how these differences impact the state CIO’s participation in government transformation and innovation in a report, “State CIO Leadership in Government Innovation and Transformation.”

The Working Group examined the numerous structures and relationships of the state CIO’s role and how the differences impact the state CIO’s participation in government transformation and innovation. It was discovered that a “one size fits all” approach is not the objective given and there are clear reasons for variations. State models are influenced by factors such as the position of the office within the governor’s leadership team, the span of authority granted by statute or policy, the services being provided, and human resource constraints.

“CIOs must adapt to quickly evolving technology, disruptive forces, and a new generation of customers,” said David Behen, NASCIO CIO Leadership Chair and chief information officer for the State of Michigan.

“We looked at how the role of the CIO might evolve given ‘forces’ that could impact this evolution, such as technology disrupters and innovation,” said John Letchford, NASCIO CIO Leadership Chair and chief information officer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. “We also discussed these ‘forces’ and critical success factors with private sector CIOs to learn how they have evolved their position, authority, and responsibility to support corporate transformation.”

This whitepaper was prepared as a guide for CIOs, Governors, and other state officials to learn more about the various models that exist and how those models could evolve to support the direction of the enterprise. For more information and to view the whitepaper, visit www.nascio.org/publications/.

Enterprise Vision, Governance, and Services are Priorities say State CIOs

/in /by

PHILADELPHIA, October 14 – The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), TechAmerica, and Grant Thornton LLP today release the 2013 annual survey of state chief information officers (CIOs), The Enterprise Imperative: Leading Through Governance, Portfolio Management, and Collaboration. This fourth annual survey report discusses how state CIOs are advancing their enterprise vision for information technology (IT). The pressures for operational cost savings and optimization continue unabated; as a result, state CIOs are emphasizing effective enterprise governance models, adopting business disciplines, and forging the right relationships for collaboration.

Last year’s survey identified the balancing act that CIOs must maintain both in providing high-quality services and in delivering new, innovative solutions. These demands have not decreased over the past year, and CIOs are responding by focusing on the enterprise and by coordinating across boundaries. The enterprise focus could involve integrating governance and portfolio management across the state, improving the effectiveness of IT procurement, or deploying statewide identity and access management solutions. CIOs are also reaching out across traditional boundaries to collaborate with other branches of state government and with local governments.

“While CIOs continue to face a wide variety of challenges in the effective delivery of technology services, the reforms they are driving consistently embrace a common philosophy: adopt an enterprise vision, drive enterprise thinking, and implement enterprise solutions,” says Doug Robinson, NASCIO’s executive director. “Whether it is IT shared services, security vulnerability monitoring, or Software as a Service, many of the most critical initiatives under way today require an enterprise-wide approach in order to be effective.”

The economic recession increased pressure on state leaders to examine alternative approaches to many services traditionally owned and delivered by state government. This included a focus on IT infrastructure, applications, and services. As a result, CIOs are concerned about the business models and sourcing strategies they use within their organizations.

“A lengthy and cumbersome IT procurement process remains a top concern for the majority of state CIOs, the survey found,” says Trey Hodgkins, TechAmerica’s senior vice president for the Global Public Sector. “The survey also reveals that the risk-averse culture of a procurement process that inhibits innovation continues to be a major problem for states around the country. It is worth noting that CIOs recognize that reasonable IT terms and conditions are important, but the findings demonstrate that CIOs are divided on whether their states are equitably sharing risk with vendors during the contracting process.”

According to the CIOs, the most desired procurement reforms are better training, more opportunity for negotiation during the procurement process, and development of standard terms and conditions for cloud and/or Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings.

The survey finds that integration and collaboration are increasingly occurring beyond the boundaries of the state’s executive branch, with shared services across jurisdictional boundaries rapidly becoming the norm. Through use of social media and mobile technology, citizens are also becoming partners in this integration, and they are leveraging identity and access management frameworks designed for everyone in the state – not just for state employees.

“State CIOs are in a unique position to lead their states in embracing an enterprise viewpoint and in delivering an integrated suite of IT services to their government customers and citizenry,” says Srikant Sastry, Managing Principal of Grant Thornton’s Global Public Sector practice. “Many of the traditional challenges – governance, cost, and the decentralized nature of state government – remain, but topics as diverse as IT project oversight, cybersecurity, shared services, and social media policy have demonstrated the enormous benefits of an enterprise approach.”

You can find the complete report at www.nascio.org, or www.techamerica.org,

NASCIO Endorses National Cyber Security Awareness Month

/in /by

LEXINGTON, Ky., Wednesday, September 25 — Recognizing the importance of protecting citizen data and raising awareness of security threats, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) supports October 2013 as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. This October marks the 10th Anniversary of National Cyber Security Awareness Month and for this observance, NASCIO has updated its Resource Guide for State Cybersecurity Awareness, Education, and Training Initiatives. Visit NASCIO’s Cybersecurity Awareness resource page to learn more www.nascio.org/advocacy/cybersecurity/.

“It is only fitting that this year’s theme for the 10th Anniversary of National Cyber Security Awareness Month is Our Shared Responsibility. NASCIO and the state CIOs understand that the Internet is the responsibility of everyone and each of us must do our part in securing a safer digital world,” said Brenda Decker, NASCIO president and Nebraska chief information officer. “This year states are increasing cybersecurity education through contests, exercises, events, trainings, boot camps, and promotions for audiences ranging from state government employees to citizens to children.”

NASCIO has again joined forces with the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity Division, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center and the National Cyber Security Alliance in supporting National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which is designed to increase the public’s awareness of cybersecurity and crime issues so citizens can take precautions to avoid those threats on the Internet. Public relations activities, educational programs, events and initiatives that target home users, small businesses, education audiences (K-12 and higher education), and child safety online will be featured throughout October. To find out more about participating in National Cyber Security Awareness Month, please visit www.staysafeonline.org.  

NASCIO is a Proud Partner in National Health IT Week 2013

/in /by

LEXINGTON, Ky., Monday, September 16 — This September, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) — a partner in the advancement of health information technology to help improve healthcare — is joining approximately 200 public and private sector organizations to participate in the 8th Annual National Health IT Week (September 16-20, 2013).  National Health IT Week 2013 is the premier event offering all healthcare stakeholders an opportunity to unite under one banner, expressing the benefits that health information technology (IT) brings to U.S. healthcare. “One Voice, One Vision.”

Comprehensive health care reform is not possible without system-wide adoption of health information technology, which improves the quality of healthcare delivery, increases patient safety, decreases medical errors, and strengthens the interaction between patients and healthcare providers.

Initiated in 2006 by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), National Health IT Week has emerged as a landmark occasion for using health IT as part of the overall solution to improve America’s healthcare as a bipartisan, federally led, market driven initiative.

The Week consists of events in Washington DC and across the country, including National Health IT Week 2013 participants —vendors, provider organizations, payers, pharmaceutical/biotech companies, government agencies, industry/professional associations, research foundations, and consumer protection groups— all working together to elevate national attention to the advantages of advancing health IT.

Visit www.HealthITWeek.org for a full list of partners and updates on the Week’s activities. Working together with our growing coalition of stakeholders, NASCIO is helping to transform healthcare for all.

NASCIO Addresses IT Procurement Risk in States

/in /by

LEXINGTON, Ky., Wednesday, September 4 — The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released an issue brief focusing on state information technology (IT) procurement risk. The NASCIO Procurement Modernization Committee, in partnership with TechAmerica and the National Association of State Procurement Officials, continues to focus on state IT procurement reforms and highlight best practices at the state level. This brief is the third in a series of recommendations set forth by this collaborative.

In the 2012 State CIO Survey: Advancing the C4 Agenda, 46 percent of state chief information officers (CIOs) expressed some form of dissatisfaction with the current form of IT procurement in their states. Taking these frustrations to heart, NASCIO has sought ways to encourage collaboration between CIOs, chief procurement officials and private information technology sector vendors.

Alex Pettit, co-chair of the NASCIO Procurement Modernization Committee and chief information officer for the state of Oklahoma said, “Procurement risk is something that all CIOs deal with and something we wanted to examine closely. The goal of this publication is to present information and options to CIOs to help them to get the conversation started in their states.”

The purpose of the brief is to highlight some of the strategies used to first identify, then to avoid, transfer, mitigate, and ultimately accept the risks associated with the procurement of IT products or services. Although not all risks can be identified, the goal should be to understand how much risk is associated with a specific IT procurement and what tools, processes, benchmarks, and methodologies are available to uniquely address IT procurement risks.

For more information and to view the issue brief, please visit www.NASCIO.org.

NASCIO Honors Exceptional State Initiatives

/in /by

Finalists Announced for 2013 NASCIO Recognition Awards

LEXINGTON, Ky., Thursday, August 15 — Successful information technology initiatives continue to be vital to the success of state government, according to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). NASCIO has selected 35 state IT initiatives in 11 categories as finalists for its 2013 Recognition Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology in State Government. These initiatives deserve to be highlighted and shared in order to promote innovation, foster better government, and engage citizens.

Finalists in NASCIO’s prestigious awards program, which is celebrating its 25th consecutive year, were recently announced, and one initiative in each category will be recognized at NASCIO’s upcoming Annual Conference. Projects and initiatives from NASCIO member states, territories, and the District of Columbia were eligible for nomination, and finalists were selected by NASCIO’s Awards Committee from a field of more than 120 nominees.

“The state recognition award nominations for 2013 demonstrate that states continue to support the public policy goals of state leaders, provide cost-effective service to citizens, and make available solutions that are transferable to other agencies or units of government,” said Claire Bailey, Arkansas director and chief technology officer and co-chair for the NASCIO Awards Committee. “Congratulations to this year’s award finalists, who represent top state IT initiatives across the nation.”

Stu Davis, chief information officer and assistant director and co-chair for the NASCIO Awards Committee said, “More than ever, state information technology best practices should be promoted and shared and the NASCIO Recognition Awards program provides the platform for highlighting leadership, innovation and collaboration. We can all benefit from this year’s compelling collection of nominations.”

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

Awards finalists in the 2013 program are as follows:

Cross Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships
California: Online Voter Registration
Virginia: Customer Relationship Management
Kansas: KLER Justice Solution
Nebraska: Network Nebraska-Education

Data, Information and Knowledge Management
California: Enhanced Call Tracking System (ECaTS)
Pennsylvania: JNET and PennDOT Facial Recognition Integration
Georgia: The Point Implementation
Michigan: Unemployment Insurance Agency Overpayment Recovery

Digital Government: Government to Business
Utah: Avenue H: Health Insurance Marketplace
California: Electronic Services Expansion Project
Massachusetts: iCORI (Internet- Accessible Criminal Offender Record Information)

Digital Government: Government to Citizen
Nebraska: Handicap Parking Permit Application and Management System
Massachusetts: mTicketing for Commuter Rail and Ferry Services
Utah: myCase: Self-service Account Management for Recipients of Public Assistance

Enterprise IT Management Initiatives
Michigan: Candid Assessment Delivers ICT Roadmap to Drive Improvements
District of Columbia: Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), Enterprise Contracts Management Services
Minnesota: Managing State IT through Service Level Agreements: An Unprecedented Journey

Fast Track Solutions
Delaware: State Police Mobile Crime Tip Line App (iOS and Android)
Nebraska: Capitol Live Mobile App
Utah: Legislative Bill Watch

Improving State Operations
California: Business Information Systems Project
Massachusetts: Juvenile Justice Enterprise Management System
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Employee Onboarding

Information Communications Technology
Hawai’i: Mobile Emergency Command Interfaced (MERCI)
New Mexico: Wildfire Watch
California: The Enhanced 9-1-1 Grant Project

Open Government Initiatives
California: Election Results Website
Massachusetts: Open Checkbook
Utah: Open Transportation Data in the Cloud with uGATE and UPlan

Cyber Security
Michigan: Cyber Training 3.0: New Solutions Addressing Escalating Security Risks
Pennsylvania: Managed Enterprise Internet and Security Services
Hawai’i: Single Sign On (SSO) for the Hawai’i State Department of Education

State CIO Office Special Recognition
Virginia: eGov Business Process Re-Engineering
Oregon: Federal Tax Information (FTI) Joint Agency Committee
California: The State of California GeoPortal