Workforce and People

In his first year as Arkansas chief technology officer, Jonathan Askins brings his private-sector background to bear on state IT modernization, broadband and where the state stands in its ongoing data work.

Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon review a variety of bills aiming to improve the state's unemployment insurance system, which has come under fire for slowness, fraud and poor management.

Cook County, Ill., CIO Tom Lynch explains how making data-driven decisions based on good governance from the start would be the first phase if he were to build a new IT shop from the ground up.

Asked how she would build a brand-new government IT office, veteran public CIO Teri Takai cited appointing the right people to leadership positions as the way to think outside the box and see success.

Former Wisconsin Department of Health Services CISO Shane Dwyer brings considerable public-sector experience to his new role as Iowa’s state CISO. He replaces Jeff Franklin, who left the position in January 2020.

Some state and local governments are turning to managed security service providers to shore up the substantial gaps in the cybersecurity workforce. The shift away from a more traditional hiring strategy has its benefits.

Bob Metz recalls the former data-processing department with two employees growing into an IT office with eight full-time and two part-time employees, student workers and a campus full of new hardware and infrastructure.

With the understanding that IT people already know how to do technology right, Cabarrus County, N.C., CIO Todd Shanley says dedicated project management and analysis staff would be central to building his ideal IT agency.

Bringing state-level experience to the table, Phoenix CISO Shannon Lawson says if he were to build a brand-new IT agency, he’d begin with strong central governance to share knowledge and break down silos.

Former Seattle CTO Saad Bashir looks back at his years serving the city and challenges ahead for the next CTO. Pushing agencies to embrace a collaborative, cross-government view of IT may loom large on the agenda.

Minnesota CIO Tarek Tomes explains that if he were to build a government IT agency from the ground up, he’d start by injecting some flexibility into how technology is funded.

Public-sector IT budgets are facing unique, though not insurmountable constraints in the wake of COVID-19. CIOs consider the pros and cons of monetary flush times, and how to build a better future.

The Dallas Police Department employee responsible for deleting 22.5 terabytes of police data was fired by city officials Friday. The worker had been employed for nine years and showed a history of errors.

If you could build a brand-new government IT shop, how would you do it? From funding and staffing to governance and automation, leading CIOs talked about how they would approach the challenge.

New state CIO Shawnzia Thomas is focusing on expanding broadband, pushing cybersecurity best practices and taking an employee’s-eye view to technology adoptions in her first few months on the job.

Career and technical instructors are making use of a platform from YouScience designed to test student aptitudes ahead of job certification exams, potentially guiding them to careers that fit their interests and skills.

The White House, tech firms, insurers and educational organizations announced near-future steps to improve national cybersecurity, including new NIST guidelines and tech support for governments looking to upgrade defenses.

The New York university has announced a collaborative workspace, the Newhouse Startup Garage, that will start by giving companies office space and access to professors in exchange for student internships or jobs.