Funding Gov Tech

The Center for Digital Government will conduct five virtual conversations featuring former government executives and current government decision-makers to break down best practices around key topics including gov tech funding strategies, technical debt, total cost of ownership, shared and managed services and costs, and public-private partnerships.

Funding Gov Tech: A National Overview of New Trends and Strategies

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Together, we’ll explore the important changes that are shaping gov tech funding today – and tomorrow.

With unprecedented dollars flowing from Washington and a new focus on investing in the nation’s technology infrastructure, state and local governments have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to close the tech gaps exposed by the pandemic, drive new innovations and improve constituent service delivery for decades.

But making sense of this quickly evolving landscape can be a challenge. Accessing federal funds, leveraging public-private partnerships, balancing competing priorities, creating long-term strategies – it’s an extremely complex and complicated endeavor.

That’s why Government Technology is partnering with the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago on a comprehensive new initiative on funding gov tech. Over the next several months – in virtual conversations, issue briefs, reports and more – we’ll look at the new ways states, cities and counties are investing in technology. We’ll outline best practices for structuring and managing your technical expenditures and debt. And we’ll share key information about how to optimize new tech spending to make the most of this historic moment.

Join our first conversation for a national overview of the strategies being used to fund technology investments in government. We will look at the trends, drivers and changes in how technology is being paid for in state and local government agencies.

Moderator:
Teri Takai, Vice President of the Center for Digital Government

Speakers:
Mark Raymond, Chief Information Officer, State of Connecticut
Tanya Hannah, Chief Information Officer for King County and KCIT Director
Justin Marlowe, Center for Municipal Finance (CMF), University of Chicago

Funding Gov Tech: Navigating Technical Debt

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State and local agencies are modernizing their approach to technology funding, making key investments to drive digital transformation and close the digital divide.

But many agencies must navigate the complexity of maintaining their legacy technology infrastructure along with the growing needs to migrate to more modern technology. They may be on the forefront of implementing new innovations, but they still must manage ongoing debt from existing investments.

Join us for this virtual conversation, part of our Funding Gov Tech program in partnership with the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago, for a deep dive into how to better manage your organization’s technical debt. Our panelists will outline the smartest ways for agencies to manage the divide between leveraging existing long-term tech investments while also making the most of new spending on modern technology.

Moderator:
Phil Bertolini, Vice President of the Center for Digital Government (CDG)

Speakers:
EJ Widun, Chief Technology Officer for Oakland County
Tracy Barnes, Chief Information Officer, State of Indiana

Funding Gov Tech: Understanding Total Cost of Ownership

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What does technology really cost? It can be a tricky question. For state and local government agencies expanding their tech infrastructure and investing in new innovations, understanding the true long-term expenses of technology investments is crucial.

And conveying that information to lawmakers and budget decision-makers can be especially challenging – particularly when more and more projects are shifting away from traditional capital outlays to ongoing software-as-a-service models.

In this virtual conversation, part of our ongoing Funding Gov Tech program in partnership with the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago, our panelists will focus on understanding the true cost of different forms of technology and service delivery, helping agencies to better anticipate the long-term cost of their technology investments.

Moderator:
Justin Marlowe, Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government, Professor and Associate Director of the University of Chicago's Center for Municipal Finance

Speakers:
Michael Leahy, Chief Information Officer, State of Maryland
Travis Cutright, Chief Information Officer at City of Mesa Glendale, Arizona

Funding Gov Tech: Shared Services, Shared Costs

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How can you divvy up risk? How can you establish agreed-upon metrics and outcomes? What policy and governance questions do you need to ask before engaging in a shared services agreement? Join us for this important conversation to learn more.

Shared and managed services have historically given state and local agencies the flexibility to spread costs and risks to partners and even other collaborating agencies.

A shared-services model, including cloud and as-a-service delivery structures, helps agencies maximize their investments in technology and tech infrastructure.

But as investments and projects have become increasingly complex, managing a shared-services approach can be complicated.

In this virtual discussion, the latest in our going Funding Gov Tech series in partnership with the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago, our panel will help government leaders understand how best to leverage shared and managed services.

Speakers:

Jason Clarke, Chief Information Officer, State of Delaware
Sabra Schneider, Chief Information Officer, City of Bellevue, WA
Nelson Moe, Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth and Leader of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA)

Moderator:

Teri Takai, Vice President, Center for Digital Government

Funding Gov Tech: What Do Public-Private Partnerships Look Like Now?

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Not long ago, public-private partnerships were seen as unique funding structures for large-scale investments in infrastructure and technology.

In the post-pandemic economy, however, P3s will be an absolutely essential part of how states and local governments built out technologies to increase connectivity, close the digital divide and provide services to constituents. These partnerships are increasingly being applied to the digital infrastructure of cities, counties, and states.

This conversation will share stories from the trenches and help government leaders understand the best approach to leveraging P3s for their digital investments. As part of our ongoing Funding Gov Tech series in partnership with the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago, this virtual discussion will provide key learnings and best practices about current – and future – approaches to public-private partnerships.

Speakers:

Rob Lloyd, Chief Information Officer, City of San Jose
Sean McSpaden, Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Moderator:

Phil Bertolini, Vice President, Center for Digital Government