Management

Good Governance Results in Public Information Sharing

When investing in technology platforms, IT leaders must consider transparency and consistency in data transfer.

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Ryan Petersen has worked in publishing for more than two decades, most of it spent creating award-winning content and strategy for CDW’s family of tech magazine brands. As editor-in-chief, he works with his team to develop compelling and useful industry-focused stories to share with the technology world. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys spending time with his children, traveling, online gaming, and following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs baseball.

Atlanta CIO Gary Brantley established a CIO advisory board composed of tech leaders last year. Larry Williams, CEO of the Georgia Technology Association, tells StateTech a resident-focused approach for the city’s tech governance is vital.

Williams believes industry leaders close to city residents can help keep government abreast of citizen concerns and thus drive positive outcomes. “This is a great opportunity to come at challenges from a customer-centric point of view and really put the interests of the city’s residents first,” he says.

Good governance involves transparency and consistency so citizens can easily see the public sector at work. When it comes to technology investments, transparency and consistency take on a deeper meaning as management strives to ensure data interoperability among programs, thus easing information sharing with the public.

Agencies Need to Use Tech to Place Citizens First

Digital transformation electrifies government IT through several avenues — whether through smart city connections, mobilizing remote workers or communicating to constituents through video or chat.

When connecting platforms with diverse functions, agencies must take care to connect them seamlessly in ways that transcend traditional silos — still a challenge in government today. Agencies may still have freedom to invest in the platforms best suited to their purposes, but good governance requires an integrated approach that moves information between those platforms and provides data to the public when required.

IT managers should collaborate to synchronize outcomes and ensure the steady flow of information across their domains. By doing so, they open the door to citizen participation.

As Deloitte notes in a recent article, “Citizen experience in government takes center stage,” and strong programs consider human-centered design from “the outside-in.” Human-centered design can “increase program buy-in, improve processes and efficiencies, and lower errors and costs in government programs,” Deloitte states.

And in doing so, government officials can ensure an informed and engaged public.

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