How Forward-Thinking Investments Will Build the Future of Digital Government

PureSolution/Shutterstock.com

To succeed, governments must create long-term integrated plans that encompass enterprise architecture, funding and policy support.

Long-awaited investment in government technology is finally here in the United States and now we must act. President Joe Biden recently announced his administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, and technologists rightly lauded his inclusion of $10 billion to modernize state systems and networks, improve cybersecurity, and fund the Technology Transformation Services. This acknowledges that governments are facing an unprecedented need to expand their digital and virtual services due to COVID-19. 

The pandemic continues to create immediate demands for services, raises the government’s technology risk profile, and changes long-term expectations for how government interacts with and delivers services. To make the most of the momentum for change that’s now here, governments will have to look beyond  2021 and this crisis. 

My hope is that this is the beginning of long-term sustained, strategic investment to establish resilient technology infrastructure and digital government.

Even prior to this crisis it was clear that governments faced high-stakes technology challenges.  For example, with the onset of the long-anticipated “silver tsunami” retirements, IT departments face high levels of attrition, leaving them understaffed and with the loss of much institutional knowledge. Yet, the pressure to deliver quickly has led to an accumulation of technical debt, with the near term agenda being prioritized at the cost of sustainability. Legacy systems, running on hardware or software that is increasingly costly and difficult to support, present operational and security risks that must be addressed. Cyberattacks have risen over the last year. The risks are not hypothetical; they are playing out at all levels of government in real time.

While there are pressing, immediate needs, the technology agenda cannot be short-sighted. To succeed, Governments must create long-term integrated plans that encompass enterprise architecture, funding, and policy support for scaling infrastructure, shared services automation, and workforce development/skills building.

Scaling Infrastructure

First and foremost, governments, as some already have, must adopt cloud-based infrastructure that scales. As legacy mainframes and servers are overwhelmed by people seeking aid from COVID-19 and the economic crisis, the challenge becomes a matter of global interest. Of course, governments aren’t going to switch to cloud infrastructure overnight. In the short-term, however, that means operating in a hybrid environment (part on-site, part cloud) while also planning for the future with supportive funding and policies that promote best practices in technology procurement and development.

Shared Services

Likewise, governments also often have multiple solutions that serve the same purpose due to being built over the course of 10 or 20 years without an overarching vision. This means more time in developing and managing applications that might no longer be needed, increased costs related to procuring software, and a confusing experience for people using government services. If governments treat their modernization projects as one-off “rip and replace” initiatives, these problems will recur again. Now is the moment to break out of that cycle and build for reuse across government.

Automation

IT organizations will have to balance pressure to automate things quickly and a need to set themselves up for long term success. The reality of COVID-19 means doing more with less. Many government agencies have embraced automated solutions to help fill gaps. Automated solutions can help streamline processes, lighten overhead, and provide for better data and tracking of operations. However, implementing automated solutions cannot be done without considering the processes and teams involved. The Federal RPA Playbook is a great starting place for organizations looking to implement automation at scale.

Workforce Development

The success of almost every other program and investment noted above depends on investing in a workforce capable of supporting, maintaining, and growing it over time. Technology and workforce development plans must be developed hand-in-hand so that the workforce is prepared to execute on the organization’s priorities. New approaches, such as The Digital Corps, to hiring can help get diverse tech talent in the door. Training and support for professional development ensure IT organizations have the skills they need and employees who buy-in to the long-term vision for the organization.

It’s not just about funding, but also about supporting long-term plans with policies and processes that complement those investments. Without that supportive structure, even smart investments in technology will fail to have positive impacts. With funding and support, total,net costs will be lower, new software will be delivered more quickly, people will get their government services more easily, and technology will be more secure.

Organizations all over the world are putting together their plans for 2021, with a heavy emphasis on technologies that will help the ongoing response to COVID-19. NASCIO recently published its top 10 priorities for 2021, The Commission for Smart Government in the U.K. just released a comprehensive list of recommendations for improving digital government, and articles calling for investments in key technologies have been published in countless outlets over the last ten months. Parlaying those short-term priorities into sustainable, long-term transformation is the next, crucial step on the path to better government technology.

Jeremy M. Goldberg is the former deputy secretary for technology and innovation for Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the interim-chief information officer at the State of New York.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.