Below are four items Tong mentioned during the event.
GOVERNOR’S INNOVATION FELLOWS
When the Office of Data and Innovation opened up the nomination process for the Governor’s Innovation Fellows, it received so many it had to split the program up into three cohorts, with each group serving for a six-month period. The second cohort, Tong said at the briefing, begins in about four months — that would put the launch date in January.
The UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy is helping to train the fellows, with other schools interested in participating as well.
The main responsibility of each cohort, she said, will be to look for ways to address the state government’s “risk-averse culture.”
“Not all of them are tech background; in fact, only a third of them are tech background,” Tong said. “Many of them we specifically captured at the middle managerial level, so that they have enough of influence, but [aren’t] bombarded with the crises they have to deal with every day.”
EFFICIENCY IDEA DEADLINE
Tong reminded the crowd of a deadline Newsom set in his efficiency executive order in July: all agencies need to submit at least one low-cost or no-cost idea to improve operational efficiency by Oct. 15.
Tong said the administration would identify its top 25 initiatives and put out a problem statement for them during October.
“That should give you a clear signal of what we're focusing on, and that is responsive of the agencies looking at between now and the next administration,” she said. “Even if we cannot complete some of these, our goal is to have so much momentum so the initiative is rooted — even if it's not completed in the remaining time, you can have momentum to take it through the next administration.”
But the efficiency conversation will be constantly evolving. All the state’s secretary-level leaders, she said, will be sharing their efficiency work on a monthly or quarterly basis, depending on the size of the agency — although Tong didn’t specify whether the sharing would happen internally or externally.
E3 SHOWCASE
The administration is also planning a showcase surrounding the “Efficient, Effective, Engaged” concept in late October to early November. The showcase will likely cover multiple topics.
“The program folks have to hear it,” Tong said. “They have to open up their eyes to the art of the possible. Without it they're doing a mundane job just to keep things going. That is not a healthy culture for innovation.”
PROCUREMENT CHANGES?
When audience members brought up problems with how the state government conducts purchasing, Tong agreed. Specifically, she said it’s a problem that procurements are requiring too many years of experience and mandating unlimited liability in contracts. That tends to push contracts toward a handful of large vendors, limiting competition, innovation and risk-taking.
“If something goes wrong, you're taking all the responsibility,” she said. “It’s like, dude, how's that going to help … the state of California?”
Although she didn’t offer much detail, Tong said “those are being worked on.”
