Key Gov Tech Takeaways This Year from State, Local Technologists

The government technology world is one where learning and borrowing best practices from others isn’t just tolerated, it’s encouraged.

With that in mind, we present five notable takeaways from state and local technology leaders who participated this year in Industry Insider — California’s ongoing One-on-One question-and-answer series:

Executive-level participation is key. In February, Chief Information Officer Subbarao Mupparaju toldIndustry Insider that his superiors at the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the executive leadership team as well “understand that the CIO involvement in the strategic planning process is critical to formulating an effective digital strategy.” Asked how big a role he plays in writing the organization’s strategic plan, Mupparaju said: “Our leadership is very inclusive and leverages collective intelligence in formulating goals and strategies. I directly participate in the divisional summits, goal steward team sessions and executive-level governance meetings where we formulate strategic goals and prioritize the projects based on their mission outcomes.” Mupparaju is a longtime state technologist; he’s been CIO at HCD since August 2021 and previously had been CIO and deputy director of the Information Technology Division at the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) since July 2015.

Data can be incredibly powerful. In April, Wendy Weaver, chief information officer at the California Department of Conservation (DOC), toldIndustry Insider the DOC, a very scientific organization “could do so much more if we make improvements in the way we capture, store, govern, and share our data.” Department data, she added, helps residents “know what’s in their backyard or neighborhood; it helps them learn about our environment and the effects of things like earthquakes; it provides keen insights into our changing climate; and it is used to help protect our land and agriculture.”
“My team is in the infancy of initiating a data transformation project that will address each of these areas,” Weaver said. “It will likely be one of the largest undertakings my team has ever completed and can only be successful with strong collaboration with our business partners and other stakeholders.” A state staffer and executive of more than eight years, Weaver was project director and IT manager for DOC’s Well Statewide Tracking and Reporting (WellSTAR) initiative from September 2017-May 2019, when she was named CIO.

Digital transformation involves weaving technology through the organization’s business processes. That’s what California Department of Motor Vehicles Chief Technology Officer Kwan Kim toldIndustry Insider in June. “It’s about changing the medium by which we provide services; it’s about the ability to interact with our customers, our end users in a complete digital ecosystem, right?” Kim said. “It’s about utilizing innovations, chatbots, AI, machine learning, really getting down to the nitty-gritty of the data elements. When we can use that data to make transformational decisions based on what the data is telling us, that’s digital transformation for us.” As you might suspect, Kim said digital transformation — shaped by business needs and customer expectations — is never done. Kim has been CTO since February; he was previously its chief of network operations since August 2019, and before that he was with the California Department of State Hospitals for more than seven years.

Safeguards are essential but procurement should be adaptable. Kristin Montgomery, chief information officer and director of the Division of Enterprise Information Services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, toldIndustry Insider in August that government procurement processes should be “updated to reflect new technology services, especially in the area of subscription-based procurements.” Officials frequently use the same procurement processes, terms and conditions for hardware, software and for technology services subscriptions, the CIO said. “Oftentimes, business programs discover a tool that is available through a low-risk subscription that is subject to the same procurement process and includes the same terms and conditions as an application, software product, or hardware,” Montgomery said. “It makes it difficult for government information technology organizations to respond in a timely manner to the needs of their programs and is frustrating to our program partners because they are trying to get services to perform the functions of their business or operations.” In place as the department’s first female CIO since June 2021, Montgomery was previously a deputy director at CDCR from March 2018-June 2021.

Mobility is key to addressing accessibility issues and bridging the digital divide. The COVID-19 pandemic taught officials that government must remain accessible to the public. “And I’m a firm believer that mobility is the vehicle to do that,” Jeramy Gray, chief deputy at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, toldIndustry Insider in October. “I think that designing public-facing solutions and digital services any other way is a waste of time and resources and has the ability to disenfranchise individuals,” Gray said. “And I really believe that the key to things like accessibility and the digital divide is mobility.” Gray has been in his position for about a year but he’s been with Los Angeles County since June 2007, in roles including assistant executive officer of the Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors and assistant executive officer of Technology and Planning.

Do you know someone who should take part in this series? Drop me an email. (Hint: you can volunteer yourself.)