In the new report’s introduction, Bailey-Crimmins writes: “’Vision 2023’ aligned technology initiatives and solutions with the needs of the people and the challenges that put a strain on agency and department operations, as well as their programs and services. Each year of the plan’s evolution focused on goals to address challenges and brought our principles to life through effective, efficient and innovative use of technology.” The plan, Bailey-Crimmins notes, “was formed out of the emergencies of 2020” and has guided the state each year since its release:
- “In 2021, we put ‘Vision 2023’ into action, not just for continued pandemic support but for many other efforts that required us to leverage technology to meet our society’s needs and make progress on the large, complex problems affecting us all,” she writes.
- “In 2022, we advanced the goals of ‘Vision 2023’ and brought our principles to life through technology. During this period, the state’s technology community stepped up to mitigate the health and economic impacts of wildfires and heatwaves that affected all residents and fell disproportionately on our most vulnerable communities.”
- “In 2023, we embraced the digital age and set the pace for California to lead the way. This is evidenced by the California Department of Technology’s ‘Bridge to the Future’ strategic plan that reflects our department’s commitment to the ideal of doing more than just keeping pace with technological advances — we cemented our role as the keystone for statewide strategic technology.”
The CDT director adds: “Currently, we are developing the next three-year California Statewide Technology Strategy to inform, exemplify and amplify the IT strategy plans and road maps throughout the state agencies, departments, educational entities and local governments in positive and meaningful ways.”
In the new report’s six sections are summaries — many based on metrics — addressing cybersecurity, project delivery, procurements duration, workforce training, and data access and outcomes. Some highlights:
- The state has increased the number of procurements while reducing how long those procurements took — from 183 days in 2022 to 142 days in 2023, a reduction of 22 percent. The report cites three key factors for this gain: Online pre-approval of qualified vendor applications reduced the timeframe by two weeks; digital tools “increased procurement efficiency through intradepartmental communication and collaboration”; and “ServiceNow … streamlined every stage of the procurement workflow.”
- The planning process for IT projects was shortened while the number of projects increased.
- The number of “policy-focused” information security audits of state agencies and departments by CDT increased, while the number of “technical-focused” independent security assessments by the California Military Department or contractors dropped.
- Through its Office of Professional Development (OPD), CDT offered more workforce training to employees in California county governments. In 2022, 345 state and local government employees completed IT leadership training, a number that rose to 351 in 2023. The number of cities or counties that participated in OPD training rose over the two years from 98 to 108.
- Public data access, through dashboards and other forms, jumped from 2,992 data sets in 2022 to 4,144 in 2023. The number of data repositories to which the state contributed data increased from 120 to 177; the number of geographic information systems (GIS) data sets rose from 3,016 to 3,079; and the number of GIS apps available to the public rose from 120 to 135.
- As the state worked to standardize its many agency and department websites within the CA.gov domain, the number of unique pageviews dropped significantly as the pandemic waned, from 1,711,665 in 2022 to 704,682,024 in 2023. Over that same period, however, the number of digital services available to the public through the state portal jumped from 142 to 171.
The report also offers detailed metrics on key initiatives relating to broadband access, digital identification, zero-emission vehicles, access to state benefits and the ongoing phenomenon of generative artificial intelligence.
CDT notes that it has begun pivoting from “Vision 2023” to the next three-year statewide IT strategic plan, which is “being developed under contract with consultants and in partnership with the state’s IT leadership community through internal and external focus groups and surveys.”
Industry Insider — California will report more closely in coming days on individual aspects of the new plan.
