The two agencies have shared office space since 2022, VITA’s director of communications said Tuesday, but officials moved administrative support for ODGA from the governor’s office to VITA effective Saturday. ODGA will keep its name, leadership, and service offerings.
The move follows the enactment of two pieces of legislation, House Bill 1632 and its counterpart in the state Senate, SB 1137, both of which shifted ODGA oversight to VITA and directed the chief data officer to obtain administrative support and resources. An amendment to this year’s state budget allocated funds to support data sharing, analytics and data tools. The former two bills were intended to better align data and system design, support modernization and improve service delivery to agencies and residents.
Creating a permanent home for ODGA has been in the works since 2023, when the General Assembly eliminated a clause in state law that would have set a termination date for the office, VITA Director of Communications Lindsay LeGrand said via email. By unifying data and system design teams, the aim is to deliver more cohesive, high-quality solutions.
“Technology modernization is a priority for the commonwealth and includes not only upgrading systems but improved data management and protections,” LeGrand said.
As ODGA and VITA align their administrative functions, technology architecture, project delivery and vendor tools, the state expects gains in speed and quality of service, she said. Cost savings should help offset rising demand for IT services. Technology modernization priorities for both entities will include system upgrades and stronger data management and protection.
While operations will be overseen by the state CIO’s office, state Chief Data Officer Ken Pfeil will continue to report to the Virginia secretary of administration and provide “strategic direction and the promotion of sharing data within state government and with the public through the open data portal,” LeGrand said.
The CDO and CIO “will continue to collaborate on information technology strategy, data protection and research into future technologies that will improve services to the citizens of Virginia,” she said. “The most important aspect of the change is the opportunity to use the talented people within both organizations as one team — sharing best practices and coordinating seamlessly.”
