The National Association of State CIOs recognized excellence in state technology at all levels at the recently wrapped NASCIO 2017 annual conference. Four awards were announced: the State Technology Innovator Awards, the 2017 NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards, the Thomas M. Jarrett Cybersecurity Scholarship, and the Corporate Longevity Awards.

Frequently when people have to interact with their state government, they aren’t in the mood to be delighted. Michele Hovet, director of innovation, KSM Consulting, knows that. But, she thinks technology can help change the status quo.

The NASCIO 2017 Annual Conference is sharing best practices, key lessons, and useful strategies for state and local government technology leaders. Sara Marshall, an industry adviser to state and local government for SAP, discusses servant leaders, those who put the needs of others first to empower their team.

The NASCIO 2017 Annual Conference is sharing best practices, key lessons, and useful strategies for state and local government technology leaders. James Collins, Delaware CIO, shares how other states can not only improve diversity in hiring, but also in retention.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that states that want to opt out of the FirstNet radio access network for first responders must do so by Dec. 28. Opt-out notices must be sent by the governors of the states or territories to FirstNet and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The NASCIO 2017 Annual Conference is sharing best practices, key lessons, and useful strategies for state and local government technology leaders. For those unable to attend the conference, MeriTalk State & Local is sharing key lessons, in a bite-size format, from the conference. First up: How to tackle IT consolidation.

State CIOs and technology industry leaders will gather in Austin next week for the NASCIO 2017 Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. State CIOs and other government officials will be able to exchange best practices, network, and learn about the latest technology that improves state services and citizen satisfaction.

Esri has deployed the CrowdRescue Puerto Rico Infrastructure Map, which displays crowdsourced reports about damage from Hurricane Maria affecting the U.S. territory. The map enables a visualization of closed roads, collapsed bridges, flooding, mudslides, areas where communication is unavailable, areas that don’t have power, areas without drinking water, and areas with downed power lines.

The Commerce Department is asking for public opinion on its Next Generation 911 Grant Program, which would modernize 911 services so that citizens can use IP-based, broadband-enabled technologies to coordinate emergency responses.

Ahead of its annual conference Oct. 1-4 in Austin, Texas, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, along with the National Association of State Procurement Officials, released a road map advocating for state IT procurement reform.