For the last eight years, Grant Thornton has helped the National Association of State Chief Information Officers conduct its annual CIO Survey. Released earlier this month, the annual survey gives CIOs around the country an opportunity to voice their thoughts and opinions on matters of high importance. Graeme Finley, principal of Public Sector at Grant Thornton, gave MeriTalk State & Local a behind-the-scenes look at the survey, as well as his thoughts on this year’s findings.
FirstNet released its Tribal Consultation Policy, which outlines the consultation process FirstNet will use with tribal nations regarding the deployment of the nationwide public safety broadband network. The new policy will give tribes an avenue to express their public safety needs through a nation-to-nation relationship between FirstNet and the 567 Federally recognized tribes, according to a FirstNet release.
The Sunlight Foundation released a report that found that cities use Federal data to make strategic decisions including identifying local issues and informing policy decisions. The majority of cities began using Federal data more than a decade ago and 43 percent plan to increase their use of Federal data in the future.
CA Technologies and Chordant released their Smart City Benefits Index, which the companies describe as the first comprehensive study designed to examine the relative potential benefits of Smart City technology in America’s major metropolitan areas. In terms of the rankings, tech hub Boston unsurprisingly topped the list. Other tech giants in the top 10 include Austin, Seattle, and San Diego. However, the big surprise was that typically industrial cities dominated the top 10.
With a desire to improve cross-agency communication and streamline IT service delivery, Ohio turned to ServiceNow for an enterprise IT service management tool.
While states are still in the process of deciding whether they are opting in or opting out of FirstNet, AT&T and FirstNet are moving ahead with public safety and innovation. The two organizations have launched an application developer program focused on first responders.
The Department of Homeland Security met with the Election Infrastructure Coordinating Council to discuss risk management tactics for election cybersecurity. The council is working to build partnerships to keep election systems secure.
NIC this month launched the first digital personal government assistant, Gov2Go, at the annual NASCIO conference. Gov2Go, which is hosted on Microsoft’s Azure public cloud, centralizes services citizens need at the local, state, and Federal level. While the platform was already in use in a few states, the recent launch marks the nationwide rollout.
Washington CIO Michael Cockrill is moving to the private sector later this month. After being appointed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in 2013, Cockrill oversaw the creation of Washington Technology Solutions, the agency created in 2015 to centralize state IT and improve services for the people of Washington through technology. Cockrill spoke with MeriTalk State and Local about his time as CIO and the jump to rejoin the private sector.
This hurricane season has already been one of the most destructive on record. Verizon is stepping up its efforts to support public safety and relief efforts in storm-battered states. Most importantly, the company is focused on repairing damaged communications networks and infrastructure to help governments focus on other restoration efforts.
