Governance of Geospatial Resources: “Where’s the Data? Show Me” – Maximizing the Investment in State Geospatial Resources

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Geospatial resources refer to a whole discipline around managing data with a spatial orientation or component to support better decision making. Geospatial resources include a field of knowledge, people, policies, processes, standards, and technology that are not only necessary for everyday decision making but also critical for continuity of operations and disaster recovery. A new emphasis on location aware is evidenced further as State CIOs named “GIS” on their Top Ten list of Priority Technologies for 2008. Geospatial resources are so ubiquitous anymore that state government as well as citizens and industry think “where?” regarding almost every issue. This issue brief explores government’s demand for geospatial resources and offers recommendations and calls to action for the state Chief Information Officer to meet that demand.

 

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Green IT in Enterprise Practices: The Essential Role of the State CIO

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Green IT has become one of the fastest-growing trends in IT today, across all sectors and levels of government. Examining the ways in which state CIOs can become involved in shaping and promoting green IT practices and policies, this brief explores the critical role that state CIOs play in reducing their state’s carbon footprint. Featuring examples of successful green IT initiatives in state enterprise practices today, this brief highlights the many ways in which states are managing their IT hardware as well as utilizing technology to reduce their carbon footprint. With the states taking the lead in many aspects of green efforts nationwide, state CIOs have an opportunity to move the green benefits of an initiative to the forefront of strategic thinking and project planning, and this brief provides several starting points from which state CIOs can begin on the path to incorporate green IT efforts into their enterprise practices.

 

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Data Governance – Managing Information As An Enterprise Asset: Part I – An Introduction

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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.

 

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The Workforce Evolution: Recruiting and Retaining State IT Employees

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An upcoming shortage of state IT government workers is predicted by many to be evident and quickly approaching. As the state IT workforce begins to face the challenges of a potential worker shortage, and as it evolves to reflect the modern workforce of the future, employee recruitment and retention tactics must be examined in order to attract and retain top IT talent. A product of NASCIO’s State IT Workforce Working Group, this brief focuses on these recruitment and retention tactics for state CIOs by examining traditional and innovative recruitment strategies, successful retention initiatives and state best practices in each of these areas. By taking steps to augment a potential state IT worker shortage, state CIOs will be better prepared to face these challenges as they arise.

 

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IT Governance and Business Outcomes – A Shared Responsibility between IT and Business Leadership

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IT Governance is all about ensuring that state government is effectively using information technology in all government lines of business. This requires that the decision rights for IT investments and deployment are properly shared between the business and IT functions within state government. This issue brief provides an introduction to this very broad topic.

 

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The Search Is On: State CIO Starting Points for E-Discovery

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In its September 2007 Issue Brief entitled “Seek and Ye Shall Find? State CIOs Must Prepare Now for E-Discovery!”, NASCIO raised the importance of State CIO involvement in e-discovery and the need for collaborative state electronic records management activities to properly address e-discovery requests. In this follow-up Research Brief, NASCIO provides starting points for State CIOs to improve the state’s ability to successfully address legal requests for electronic information.

Topics include:

  • Getting Started on Electronic Records Management
  • Managing an Electronic Records Management Initiative
  • The Role of Records Retention Schedules · The Challenge of Retrieving Electronic Information
  • Electronic Records Management Training and Awareness for State Employees

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Connecting State and Local Government: Collaboration through Trust and Leadership

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Citizen demand for efficient government often drives state agencies to seek out opportunities to deliver traditional services in non-traditional ways. Engaging in cross-boundary collaboration can be a way for states to leverage costs while providing citizens with streamlined services. Such collaboration is inevitable for state CIOs and this brief, a product of NASCIO’s Cross-Boundary Collaboration Committee, explores the unique challenges and opportunities of cross-boundary collaboration between state and local government entities. Highlighting successful examples of state-local collaborations already underway, this brief features the governance and financial models that were utilized for these collaborations. In addition, this brief examines the unique challenges facing state-local challenges and explores the ways in which states and localities can work together to achieve success and to lay the groundwork for future collaborative efforts.

 

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Pandemic Planning and Response for State IT: Where’s My Staff?

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Without the flow of electronic information, government comes to a standstill. When a state’s data systems and communication networks are disrupted, the problem can be serious and the impact farreaching. The consequences can be much more than an inconvenience. Serious disruptions to a state’s IT systems can lead to public distrust, chaos, fear and potential loss of life. Traditionally, IT disruptions are planned for based on anticipated disasters both natural and manmade that can physically damage facilities and equipment. However, we live in a time that holds the potential for a pandemic outbreak in your city, state or possibly the nation. What would you do as state chief information officer (CIO) if one day your staff did not come to the office because of a pandemic outbreak?

 

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State CIO Top Ten Policy and Technology Priorities for 2008

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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.

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Electronic Records Management and Digital Preservation: Protecting the Knowledge Assets of the State Government Enterprise Part III

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Electronic Records Management and Digital Preservation: Protecting the Knowledge Assets of the State Government Enterprise

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.

 

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