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October 1, 2012 By Noelle Knell
Michigan and Utah topped the 2012 Digital States Survey, a comprehensive biennial review of the technology practices of state governments conducted by the Center for Digital Government (CDG). CDG is the research and advisory division of e.Republic, the company that publishes Government Technology.
Ranking slightly behind Utah and Michigan — which earned the survey’s only A grades — were California, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia, each earning an A minus. Twenty-two states earned B or B minus grades and 18 states received a C or C minus. Florida and Idaho received the lowest grades in this year's survey, earning D grades. Results were released by the CDG on Tuesday, Oct. 2.
CDG Executive Director Todd Sander explained that the survey reveals two different approaches to technology in light of the challenging economic circumstances still plaguing U.S. states. "In some states, technology is viewed as a way to mitigate and overcome those pressures and in other places, it's viewed as a cost center and something to be cut back and reduced," Sander said.
Other hallmarks of success in the survey, according to Sander, were a willingness to explore nontraditional opportunities for collaboration and to embrace the flexibility needed for effective responses to mobility trends.
Most states submitted responses to a series of survey questions, focusing on IT leadership, service delivery, citizen engagement, innovation and collaboration. For those states not submitting information, evaluators considered several factors, including interviews and various other interactions with CDG staff throughout the survey period. Researchers, executives and senior fellows from the Center for Digital Government were involved in the comprehensive evaluation process that resulted in each state’s grade.
2012 Digital States Survey grades were determined based on the following criteria:
These states are trending sharply up. They demonstrated results across all survey categories. Nimble leaders use modernization to implement strategic priorities and operational efficiencies. They show evidence of meaningful collaboration. Performance measures and metrics are widely adopted. Cuts tend to be made strategically.
B Grade States
These states are trending up. They demonstrated results in many survey categories. Leadership uses modernization to change entrenched practices to prepare for more sustainable operations. Collaboration incentives are in place, measures are used in key areas and cuts tend to be made across the board.
C Grade States
These states are stable and demonstrating results in some survey categories. Modernization is used to realize operational efficiencies. This grade level includes states that launched reforms but have not fully harvested their results. Organizational constraints limit collaboration, and performance measures are uneven. Cuts have constrained progress.
These states are trending down. They demonstrated results in at least one category. Modernization tends to be siloed and limited. There is little evidence of collaboration and few performance measures. In addition, cuts threaten operational viability.
The infographic below shows each state’s grade in the 2012 Digital States Survey.
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http://www.govtech.com/policy-management/2012-Digital-States-Survey.html
So where is the list?
Interesting; is only half of Michigan included in the "A" grade, since the whole state isn't pictured? Perhaps even the other half of the state has a different grade? :P
Thanks RW, Michigan's Upper Peninsula has been restored.
I have spent a year in Government service now after working 18 years building products at Microsoft. There are many things that are meaningless in Government and this ranking seems to be one more such meaningless exercise. According to a senior person in this company, they send out a survey that takes an hour or two to fill out and then the people who write in a lot of text get ranked higher. I am the CIO of WA state and I didn't receive any kind of survey and hence didn't respond. There are many things we need to improve but from what I can tell the rankings definitely don't reflect what I know about the actual state of IT in a couple of states where I have heard anecdotal feedback. I'd love to get a detailed accounting of exactly what Government Technology did to come up with this rating and perhaps publish a word count of the responses of various surveys and their corresponding grade. Most such survey based grades (US News for example) just don't rate non respondents. I wish they hadn't bothered to rate us since there is nothing useful that comes out of a meaningless rating like this one. Bharat Shyam CIO, Washington State
It's a nice overview and a cute graphic, but where are the details?
We are very proud of our State of Michigan! They have earned the "A" rating by being innovative in tough economic times. Their CIO Dave Behen and his team do incredible work and should be honored to be recognized in this way. As for the comment above about meaningless rankings, the CIO from Washington needs to get a better understanding of what these rankings mean and how important they are to sustaining innovation in government IT. Being recognized by CDG helps us in many ways especially when educating our elected officials on the value of IT. I would suggest that he sit down with a representative from CDG and get the information he needs to understand the process better before making the type of comments he made after this article. These rankings are not meaningless, more correctly they help us understand what we need to work on and how we can follow the best practices that will move us forward. Again, congrats to Michigan...we are proud of you all! Phil Bertolini Deputy County Executive/CIO Oakland County, MI
Wait a second--can we see the instrument that produced these ratings? I work at the Washington State Digital Archives (though I am writing on my own behalf) and we are miles ahead of the other states in getting public records online. We have 110 million digital records preserved, and around 40 million searchable. How is that a C-?