Maximizing Value - Minimizing Risk:
IT Innovation in the Public Sector
October 20, 1998 - Noon
PSFA 200

Dr. Sharon Dawes
Center for Technology in Government
University at Albany / SUNY

Jointly sponsored by
Dr. Kris Stewart (stewart@sdsu.edu)
San Diego State University
Education Center on Computational Science & Engineering, and
Dr. Louis Rea
School of Public Administration and Urban Studies

This URL is http://www.edcenter.sdsu.edu/dawes.html

People want a government that makes sense, works predictably and efficiently, and shows a consistent, intelligent face to citizens and businesses. They expect one-stop, same-day, customized services to replace the fragmented, duplicative, and lengthy processes that have so long characterized government operations. Changes like these demand significant financial and political investment--and they run a high risk of failure. Technologies exist to enable these transformations, but, decisions to adopt them are usually made through the traditional competitive bidding process, a one-shot technique ill-suited to the experimentation and learning that should accompany such large investments. As a consequence, multi-million dollar failures occur all over the country.

To address this problem, New York State created the Center for Technology in Government (CTG) in 1993. The Center is located at the University at Albany/ State University of New York. It provides state and local agencies the ability to experiment, and learn what works and what does not work, in low-cost, low-risk prototype projects before high-stakes, high-cost systems are developed. CTG's competitively selected projects, proposed by public agencies, involve mission-critical public policy issues. One recent project was designed to help balance environmental stewardship and economic development goals in the six million acre Adirondack Park. Another explored ways to improve systems that connect state agencies and local governments. A third helped agencies understand how to design, deliver, and manage services on the World Wide Web.

The Center has five key objectives . . .

. . and a three-pronged philosophy . . .

This presentation will describe the Center's approach to partnership projects, discuss the benefits and challenges of working in a partnership model, and give examples from a variety of completed and current projects.