Minnesota to Overhaul State IT

Moving forward on a mission to streamline government and make it more responsive, Governor Tim Pawlenty recently launched a major overhaul of state government.

The "Drive to Excellence" initiative is being implemented through executive and reorganization orders signed by the Governor. Among the goals of "Drive to Excellence" are:

• Creation of more "one-stop shop" opportunities for easy access to government services for citizens and businesses
  
  
• Increasing the electronic delivery of government services
  
  
• Streamlining government by reducing the replacement rate of retiring state workers

If all aspects of the initiative are implemented overall savings, some of which will be reinvested, could be as much as $570 million by 2011.

Executive orders begin implementation of six of the initial reform areas:

• Information Technology. In order to reduce inefficiencies, duplication and redundancy, state government information technology systems will be pulled together and headed by a state Chief Information Officer charged with central planning, development, operation and oversight.
  
  
• Purchasing. The State of Minnesota spends more than $1 billion a year to buy goods and services from more than 25,000 vendors. "Drive to Excellence" will expand the use of cost-saving tools such as reverse auction and purchasing pools. Centralized purchasing will result in significant savings and improved quality of products and services.
  
  
• Licensing. Currently more than 40 state agencies handle 1 million business and professional licensing transactions are handled each year. "Drive to Excellence" creates a single "one-stop shop" for business and professional licensing resulting in a significant improvement in customer service.
  
  
• Code consolidation. The regulation of building construction will be consolidated from six agencies into one, greatly assisting an industry that makes up 20 percent of Minnesota's economy.
  
  
• Grant Management. The state currently pursues, distributes, and manages more than $1.1 billion of incoming grant money from more than 500 grants. It also monitors the performance of approximately 7,000 organizations that receive $1.4 billion through 9,400 state grants. Unifying how these grants are processed will provide greater efficiencies and increased accountability.
  
  
• Real Property Management. The state's 5,000 buildings and nearly six million acres of land are currently managed by 14 agencies. The current uncoordinated approach to managing the state's property will be replaced by an enterprise governance structure optimizing rent, repair, maintenance costs and ownership opportunities.

"The world is changing at 100 miles an hour and state government needs to change with it," Governor Pawlenty said. "Today's action will simplify government, provide greater focus on our customers and eliminate duplicative services. Under our leadership, Minnesota will become a national leader in delivering government services."

While much of "Drive to Excellence" will be implemented through executive branch directives, some of the changes will require legislative action. Senator Sheila Kiscaden (IP-Rochester) and Representative Kathy Tingelstad (R-Andover) are sponsoring the legislation.

"With budget challenges facing our state and demographic changes bringing additional pressure in the future, now is the time to streamline government," Rep. Tingelstad said. "These are innovative, common sense solutions that will bring better customer service and cost-effectiveness to state government."