Steve Fletcher came home to Utah in 2005 to become the first director of the Department of Technology Services. New legislation creating the state Department of Technology Services, consolidating Utah's IT resources and services and empowering the state CIO to recreate the organization from top to bottom gave the job some real clout.

Utah had seen three CIOs come and go in the previous four years, when the CIO had limited influence over state IT. At the time, each of 24 agencies was supported by its own stove-piped technology staff with little coordination across government. The CIO's office had to get agreement from all 24 before kicking off an initiative.

Fletcher would change all that. In his first year on the job, he centralized IT authority, increased coordination and interoperability between agencies, and reduced data, hardware, and software redundancies, all while reducing costs and improving service to the agencies and to citizens. The streamlined organization makes Utah's government more transparent, and his statewide strategic IT plan and formal service-level metrics - Utah's first - provide the basis for better accountability.

Consolidating the work of 1,000 workers across 24 state bureaucracies without service interruption is no easy task. With 24 separate helpdesks, 369 "standard" desktop configurations, 22 versions of word-processing software, and 23 LAN administrators, Fletcher faced quite a challenge.

He started by meeting personally with each agency to gather opinions and to understand the business needs of each. To get more out of his workforce, he moved IT staff into DTS to report to the CIO's office instead of an agency head. To avoid disrupting office culture, the workers that weren't promoted to the DTS central office were allowed to remain in their agency-based offices. Fletcher also converted his staff from civil servants to "at-will" employees by enticing each employee who agreed to relinquish civil service status with an eight percent raise; 91% of DTS employees took him up on his offer.

By removing the silos between IT support shops, Fletcher improved performance and reduced costs and downtime. Instead of devoting technicians to specific agencies, DTS dispatches the technician that's closest to the office in need of help. Now the response in rural areas is quicker and 20% less expensive.

In addition to new organizational efficiencies, standardized and consolidated infrastructure has led to big savings. Utah now saves $3.7 million annually on PC purchases. Mainframe operating expenses have dropped by more than 25%, and with an estimated four times fewer government servers, the cost of supporting agencies is down by a third. Fletcher has plowed these savings into improved IT security and additional services without increasing cost.

Fletcher and his staff launched an upgraded Utah.gov in June. The new portal makes heavy use of Flash programming, but reverts to a simpler version automatically for users without that capability. The site is also accessible to mobile users, and those that encounter problems can even use a live chat function that's available 24/7.

The site is tailored to the needs of citizens rather than government agencies and prioritizes search and local information ahead of news releases. User-friendly Web 2.0 tools are integrated into the site and include iPhone applications, numerous blogs, YouTube and Flickr channels, a Facebook page, and dozens of Twitter feeds. A data page provides links to state files, their sources, and visualizations of the data.

Utah boasts that it has more online services - at least 860 - than any other state. Utah.gov receives more visits per capita than any other state website, around 2 million a month. A majority of driver's licenses, 70% of hunting licenses, and almost 90% of business registration renewals are completed online in Utah.

In 2008, for the first time, Utah.gov received the top ranking in the Center for Digital Government's Digital States Survey.

By consolidating services, DTS has made it possible for hundreds of state jobs to be done online from home anywhere in the state, boosting Utah's rural economic development. Many Utah state employees work four 10-hour days to facilitate office closings. As a result, workers save on the cost of commuting and reduce Utah's carbon footprint by eliminating the need for bus passes and car keys every Friday. By closing buildings one day every week, Fletcher expects the state to save over $3 million per year on energy costs. The four-day schedule is a great recruiting tool, too, and employees with year-round three-day weekends use less leave.

Fletcher received his Bachelors Degree from the University of Utah and earned an MBA with an emphasis on engineering management from the University of Dallas. Fletcher founded an IT and communications consulting firm and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management and then as the CIO/CTO at the Department of Education, where he reduced default rates on student loans by improving risk analysis. This year, he was elected vice president of NASCIO.

OMB has launched an ambitious new website, the Federal IT Dashboard, to be a one-stop clearinghouse of information that allows anyone with a web browser to track federal IT initiatives and hold the government accountable for progress and results.

The dashboard presents in graphic format the results of federal agencies' IT project management as reported in agency reports on IT spending. The data is reported monthly in USASpending.gov, which is a new version of www.fedspending.gov, created under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), which requires a single searchable website, accessible by the public for free.

The data is largely from the Federal Procurement Data System, which contains information about federal contracts and the Federal Assistance Award Data System, which contains information about federal financial assistance such as grants, loans, insurance, and direct subsidies like Social Security.

The Dashboard features three main sections:

Though the dashboard is still in "beta" as key features continue to be added, CIO Vivek Kundra states on the site's blog that the recent Department of Veterans Affairs decision to reexamine 45 behind-schedule, over-budget IT projects totaling $200 million is partly attributable to the Dashboard. In conjunction with the launch, USAspending.gov posted a welcome and how-to video on its YouTube channel.

The White House's Open Government Initiative came to a close at midnight on July 6. In the final phase of the initiative, 375 online contributors spent 12 days producing 305 versions of recommendations to make the government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative. During the subsequent three days, their work in 16 topical areas was rated 2,256 times.

The recommendations originated during the initiative's brainstorming and discussion phases. During the brainstorming phase, participants voted for or against ideas and added their own for others to vote on. The discussion phase used the Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog to host a deeper conversation about the brainstormed ideas.

The results are now under review by the White House. The initiative was the result of the President's Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, released January 21.

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board has awarded a $9.5 million contract that could expand to nearly $18 million for the redesign of its Recovery.gov website. The contract was awarded to Smartronix, Inc.

Reports from the approximately 200,000 recipients of Recovery Act funds will begin rolling in for posting to Recovery.gov this October. In addition to designing and hosting the site, Smartronix will provide maintenance and operational services.

In a report issued in July, the Government Accountability Office found that "persistent weaknesses in information security policies and practices continue to threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical information and information systems used to support the operations, assets, and personnel of most federal agencies."

Nearly all of the government's 24 major agencies showed security weaknesses due to incomplete implementation of information security programs. The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) requires each agency to "develop, document, and implement" an information security program.

The report recommended that OMB improve its reporting instructions for agencies, provide more comprehensive testimony on its findings to congress, and approve or disapprove agency security programs after review.

In a memo citing the risk of "increasing dependency on cyberspace, alongside a growing array of cyber threats and vulnerabilities," Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the creation of U.S. Cyber Command. The new office integrates DOD cyberspace operations and is subordinate to Strategic Command. The launch is accompanied by a comprehensive policy and strategy review of DOD cyberspace operations.

The command is to be led by the Director of the National Security Agency and will begin operation this October and reach full capacity one year later. The command will supersede and eliminate the need for two offices: Joint Task Force - Global Network Operations and Joint Functional Component Command - Network Warfare.

The federal government's success in combating cyber-security threats and the safety of the nation will depend on implementing a comprehensive and coordinated strategy that must include building a vibrant, highly trained and dedicated cybersecurity workforce in this country, the non-profit Partnership for Public Service says in a report issued July 22.

The report, Cyber In-Security, issued by the Partnership and Booz Allen Hamilton, identified four primary challenges that threaten the quality and quantity of our federal cybersecurity workforce.

1. The pipeline of potential new talent is inadequate.
2. Fragmented governance and uncoordinated leadership hinders the ability to meet federal cybersecurity workforce needs.
3. Complicated processes and rules hamper recruiting and retention efforts.
4. There is a disconnect between front-line hiring managers and government's HR specialists.

The Accenture Institute for Public Service Value has issued two reports on citizens' views of technology and how it affects individuals' views of government in major cities around the world.

In a report entitled Exploring People's Perspectives on the Role of Government, the international consulting firm reports on citizen forums held in 2007 and 2008 in 13 major cities around the world, ranging from Toronto to Tokyo and including New York and Los Angeles. The research was conducted prior to the global economic crisis last fall.

Accenture brought citizens together to discuss their perceptions about the quality of life in their cities and their expectations of government. The resulting opinions about what government's most important consideration should be in planning and delivering public services was "quite different" among the cities, but there was general agreement on many points.

In generating "principles of public value," the participants generally agreed on two basic principles that should be guiding principles for government: (1) equality and fairness and (2) transparency and accountability. Other important expectations included:

• Customer focus and flexibility
• Efficiency and value for money
• Connectedness and coordination
• Long-term outlook/prevention.

Other contributors to "public value" were high priorities for citizens in only one city each (and all in 2007). They are:

• Focus on immediate results (Madrid)
• Accessibility (London)
• Choice (Singapore).

In another report, Web 2.0 and the Next Generation of Public Service, Accenture describes how Web 2.0 technologies can most effectively help public service organizations achieve their mission objectives and, ultimately, high performance. These technologies can "break down silos, improve citizen service, unleash better collaboration within and among agencies, and foster broader participation by the citizens themselves," the report says.

The Global Cities Forum, a series of daylong citizen panels in cities around the world focused on exploring the role of government in improving the quality of life, which provided input to both reports, suggested four components of framework for using Web 2.0 technologies to help public service:

1. Outcomes - Focusing on improved social and economic outcomes.
2. Balance - balancing choice and flexibility with fairness and common good.
3. Engagement - Engaging, educating and enrolling the public as co-producers of public value.
4. Accountability - Clarifying accountability and facilitating public recourse.

GSA's SmartBuy program has awarded contracts to five IT vendors for cybersecurity software. The contracts are Blanket Purchase Agreements designed to simplify the procurement process and save agencies money by leveraging the buying power of the federal government.

The SmartBuy program was launched by OMB in 2003. To date, the program has saved the government more than $500 million in software costs and has reduced the administrative cost of procurement while increasing standardization.

AFFIRM Awards. Mike Howell, OMB's Deputy Administrator for E-government and Information Technology received the award for Executive Leadership in Federal Information Resources Management at the Association for Federal Information Resources Management's Annual Awards Luncheon in Washington, DC July 23. Additional recipients included:

Great .Gov Web Sites. Government Computer News released it's second annual compendium of exemplary government websites. The list included the following 10 sites:

• Data.gov & USASpending.gov (OMB/GSA)
• Forge.mil (Defense Information Systems Agency)
• Transit 511 (California Metropolitan Transportation Commission)
• State.gov (State Department)
• Federal Digital System (Government Printing Office)
• Utah.gov (State of Utah)
• Science.gov (Department of Energy)
• U.S. Postal Service (Postal Service)
• Women's Health & Girl's Health (Department of Health & Human Services)
• WebContent.gov (Federal Web Manager's Council/GSA)

Nominations for NASCIO's State Technology Champion Award are due August 3. The new award will recognize individual contributions to information technology policy and practice at the state level.

Also available in pdf 75 kb

Governance, Risk, and Compliance Conference
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August 4, 2009

Web Manager University: Y!OS for Government Agencies
Online
August 6, 2009

Government Executive Leadership Breakfast Series: Green Government I: Administration's Drive for a Greener Economy
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August 6, 2009

Government Executive Leadership Breakfast Series: Cyber Security
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Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase: Government as a Platform
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TechWeb/O'Reilly Media: Gov 2.0 Summit
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Web Manager University: Introduction to Social Voting Tools
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Web Manager University: Managing Government Websites 101
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National Defense University Information Leader Symposium: Web 2.0 Solutions
Washington, DC
September 24, 2009

Web Manager University: Best Practices for Multilingual Websites
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September 29

NIEM National Training Event
Baltimore, MD
September 30-October 2, 2009

Web Manager University: Building Online Communities for Citizen Engagement
Online
October 1

Excellence in Government Series: Driving Federal Performance
Washington, DC
October 5, 2009

Web Manager University: Creating Web Metric Reports That Rock
Online
October 7, 2009

Web Manager University: Video Bootcamp
Washington, DC
October 14-15, 2009

Web Manager University: Hands-On Card Sorting
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October 20, 2009

ACT/IAC Executive Leadership Conference
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October 25-27, 2009

NASCIO Annual Conference
Austin, TX
October 25-28, 2009

Web Manager University: Building 508-Accessible Websites
Washington, DC
October 27-28, 2009

Web Manager University: Web Design Prototyping: Practical Tools & Techniques
Washington, DC
November 5, 2009

Web Manager University: Best Practices of Search
Online
November 10, 2009

Web Manager University: Proven Strategies for Getting Readable Content
Washington, DC
November 17, 2009

International Knowledge Management Conference
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December 3-4, 2009

Web Manager University: Latest Usability Trends: Bringing Research into Practice
Washington, DC
December 9, 2009

Web Manager University: Introduction to Podcasting
Washington, DC
December 15, 2009

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