FOLSOM, Ca. ? Michigan was one of three states to earn a grade of A in the 2014 Digital States Survey, released this week, which evaluates state government?s ability to improve internal processes and better serve citizens.
Other states earning an A are Utah and Missouri. Two years ago in the last survey, Michigan also earned an A as well as in 2010. Michigan has placed among the top two positions going back to 2004.
Every two years, the Center for Digital Government, the research and advisory arm of Government Technology?s parent company e.Republic, evaluates state government?s ability to improve internal processes and better serve citizens. This year?s results are positive, and foreshadow a bright future, said CDG Executive Director Todd Sander.
?States have made thoughtful, and for the most part, wise decisions on where they invested over the last couple years in particular,? Sander said. ?They needed to because financial resources were scarce and the competition in the enterprise was high. We?re starting to see that really pay off now.?
Of the 50 states surveyed, 21 improved their grade since 2012, 17 states remained the same, and 12 states saw a drop. As a group, the states are doing well and even the states with lower grades didn?t drop by much, Sander said. All 12 states with decreased grades dropped by just one step, going from an A- to a B+, for instance.
In Michigan, consistent success has come from a wide range of consistent support, said CIO David Behen.
?It is the executive sponsorship and leadership from Gov. [Rick] Snyder and the support we get from the legislators and our agency partners,? Behen said. ?Being a centralized IT organization, those attributes are what make us successful, plus the great team we have here ? not just the IT team, it?s also our IT strategic partners from the private sector that come in and help us do the things we?re very successful with.?
Michigan launched several large projects over the past two years that contributed to its success, Behen said, including a Medicaid compliance program, and a childrens? well-being management system. Cybersecurity and mobile technology also remained a strong focus areas for the state, he said, adding that Michigan also launched an enterprise big data project last year and it’s looking forward to seeing the fruits of that labor.
Michigan?s IT department also was recognized for its success in financial management. The state?s project and resource management has been streamlined in the past two years, something Behen said he?s proud of. ?We have data now that can not only justify the project, but also we can track our projects so much better than we used to in the past,” he said. “It allows for us to be accountable for the dollars that we?re given.”
Behen recognized that many of the benefits his state and others are now realizing are the result of diligence and innovation wrought from hard economic times of the near past. Continuing that same mindset of innovation and collaboration is possible with concerted effort, he said.
?You don?t want to get fat and sassy, right? You want to stay on the edge of things,? Behen said. ?I would hope that that continues, and I would say it?s not a bad exercise every so often for organizations public and private to go through looking at what you?re doing and how effective and efficient are you in that, and continuing on that path of improvement.?
To read the survey, click on GovTech.Com
