One of California’s smaller cities has been recognized for its work in technology and innovation.
In the 2022 edition of its yearly Digital Cities Survey, the Center for Digital Government* recognized just one California city as a winner in the category of 75,000-124,999 in population. This municipality made strides this year on matters including cybersecurity, transparency, data aggregation and connectivity. (Find Industry Insider — California’s coverage of larger winners here, here and here.)
Carlsbad, a San Diego County city of more than 115,000, took ninth place this year as it did in 2021. In 2020, the city placed seventh in its population category. This year, the city leaned on planning, creating a high-level innovation road map, “Connected Carlsbad,” and a Strategic Digital Transformation Investment Program that plans investments annually and provides five-year plans for spending on digital transformation. Officials are evaluating all technology services to ensure reliability, cybersecurity and cost effectiveness, as well as their potential to integrate and scale. They’re also flowing previously siloed information into a shared data lake, with a new data policy and Data Governance Committee guiding the approach. A recently appointed chief data officer will do yearly data censuses to classify and designate sensitive data.
Carlsbad is making progress on a five-year plan to implement key areas of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework and is sharing information with nearby jurisdictions as it plans the adoption of a 24/7 SOC as a service and contracting for a virtual chief information security officer. Having traditionally regarded cybersecurity as a shared responsibility by staff, Carlsbad is shifting its strategy to hire dedicated cyber staff including an information security manager.
Resident-facing improvements include a website redesign to enhance the public records search and make it easier to watch City Council meetings; and an initiative that delivers automatic follow-up texts and emails to those who report or suffer crimes, with information on case progress. Faster Internet at all municipal buildings is expected by next year, the result of a new partnership that could also position Carlsbad to offer more public Wi-Fi.
“The city of Carlsbad continues to be a leader in their overall planning and use of technology,” said Brian Cohen, vice president of the Center for Digital Government. “We commend the city for its IT vision and focus along with the commitment to use technology strategically to serve the needs of its community.”
*The Center for Digital Government and Government Technology are part of e.Republic, parent company of Industry Insider — California.
Find full coverage of this year’s Digital Cities Survey in Government Technology.
