Some CIOs may have difficulty discerning how they can impact economic-development activities. Virginia's Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopra offered a few suggestions.

• Distributed services strategy. In Virginia, almost 1,000 IT staffers who handle help desk and data center work were clustered in Richmond's Capitol Square district. The state moved approximately 400 jobs to southwest Virginia, which traditionally has higher unemployment. CIOs should ask themselves how many jobs could be distributed to communities that are in need of employment.
• Empower telework. A related effort is encouraging telework policies within government. Virginia's tax department allows 25 full-time teleworkers to be located in rural Danville, Va. CIOs can create reliable infrastructure to enable more telework.
• Partner on broadband. Look at public-private partnerships as a means to provide broadband to underserved and rural areas, especially as states look to expand broadband offerings.