Technology

December 16, 2008

THE NEW PUBLIC WORKS

With all of the talk in recent weeks about stimulus plans, political leaders in the states and localities are busy building their Christmas wish lists for Congress -- apparently with visions of roadways, new transit tracks and bridge repairs dancing in their heads. But what about the infrastructure of this century?

This newsletter is edited by Governing's Mark Stencel. Got an idea? Contact us at techletter@ governing.com.

Where are the green data centers and the regional broadband initiatives? Who's looking to replace all of those creaky old desktop computers hooked up to small, outdated monitors I see every time I pass through a government office? And if the nation's physical infrastructure is worth spending billions to defend, why aren't there comparable efforts to defend the nation's electronic infrastructure as well?

Gopal Khanna, the chief information officer of Minnesota, has been asking the same questions, especially given the important role that technology could play in restoring this country's economic health and providing for its security. The trouble, Khanna says in a guest column on Governing.com, is that government officials do not prioritize investments in what he calls the country's "Digital Cyber Complex" the same way they treat other, more traditional kinds of infrastructure:

"Like roads and bridges, this Digital Cyber Complex will need continuous planning, maintenance and upgrading in order for its services to be available when, where and how they're needed. Today's digital infrastructure was created in an ad hoc manner over the last 50 years, with multiple layers supporting each other. These layers include telecommunications lines, hardware, operating systems, software and productivity enhancement tools. It has been very successful, but the future will demand an even more dependable and secure system."

Khanna has made the needs for enhancing the nation's digital infrastructure the centerpiece of his one-year term as president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). And he has an interesting perspective on the importance of large public investments in technology, having worked in the private sector and in the federal government before joining the administration of Minnesota's Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty, in 2005. (Khanna's bio)

"Like the private sector, government increasingly relies on electronic means to conduct its operations," Khanna writes. "It is these government operations that enable trade and commerce and support the delivery of our most basic services, including education, public safety and health care, as well as essential administrative functions, such as issuance of professional licenses and payments to staff and vendors."

Khanna offers several ideas for ways to make sure those systems are there when government and citizens need them. One key is "establishing a governance structure that provides for life cycle planning and ongoing maintenance and upgrading of the government's IT infrastructure," Khanna says. "Ideally, the full life cycle of government's vital 'brick and mortar' infrastructure is planned in advance and money is collected and saved in anticipation of repair and replacement. The time has come to establish a similar governance structure for IT to replace the unplanned annual budgeting that occurs now."

Of course, a "governance structure" for managing technology investments is only useful if there is funding to invest, which Khanna says is exactly where the private sector might come in:

"We need a coherent strategy that leverages public-private partnerships in the technology sector so that our businesses can compete globally and citizens can be served by government anytime, anywhere. There are a variety of funding mechanisms to choose from and no single mechanism is obviously the best choice; each has advantages and disadvantages. Bonding and vendor financing are just a couple of innovative mechanisms that should be considered along with an entrepreneurial governance structure that can effectively leverage public-private partnerships in this highly inventive and still evolving sector."

NASCIO took a look at a variety of "innovative funding" models in a report released in September. Among its key findings: Most state funding (as much as 90 percent, based on survey responses from 31 states) still comes from traditional sources, and some of those sources (particularly federal funding) come with restrictions that often are at odds with CIOs' push to coordinate technology operations across departmental and other institutional lines.

Khanna's complete guest column -- "Investing in the Invisible Infrastructure" -- is available on Governing.com.

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

When I first started writing about technology issues in state and local government, almost every source I met immediately asked if I knew Ellen Perlman, the Governing staff writer who has owned our tech beat for more than a decade. As of next month, Ellen will own this electronic newsletter as well. As I turn my attention to my new role as Governing's editor, this now-twice-monthly e-letter couldn't be in better hands.

In 15 years as a staff writer with Governing, Ellen has developed a knack for helping our readers understand the possibilities that technology presents for solving some of the most daunting problems on policy makers' to-do lists -- and for helping technologists understand why policy makers are sometimes slow to embrace or even grasp those solutions.

For nine years, Ellen has been our Tech Talk columnist, a feature that now appears monthly in the magazine. And she will continue to write longer articles for the magazine -- such as this month's story on the data police departments are using to prevent crime by predicting where it will occur. In addition, she will continue to generate quick items for our blog. Ellen also has her own blog, Boldly Go Solo, an outlet that gives her a place to showcase her talents as a worldly traveler and freelance travel writer.

What makes Ellen a terrific guide to exotic vacation destinations may well be the same thing that makes her a great technology writer for Governing: She refuses to pretend to know more than she does. When it comes to technological promises and jargon, she unapologetically asks the questions that officials at all levels of government should be asking -- and she makes sure the answers are understandable.

"I wish I didn't have to be bilingual to do my job," Ellen wrote in her column last month. "People often talk to me in Tech Speak, and I have to translate it for readers." (Lighten Up on Language, Nov. 2008).

Those readers are no longer just the nerdy back-office specialists whose mysterious machines channel the data flows that quietly keep the wheels of government turning. Technology is now as common as a file cabinet and as vital as a telephone. It is the everyday tool by which policy is implemented and results are measured.

The increasing importance of technology in all aspects of government management is reflected in the readership of this newsletter. In the year and a half since we hit "send" on the first edition, your ranks have grown from just a few thousand to more than 18,000 -- a diverse group that includes as many lawmakers, senior administrators and finance managers as there are pure technologists. But clearly you share in the hope that technology will help propel you, your ideas and your work forward.

Your new guide on that journey can be reached at techletter@governing.com. Be sure to tell Ellen what you'd like to see -- and watch for her first technology e-newsletter next month.

Mark Stencel
Editor and Deputy Publisher
Governing magazine | Governing.com

DEALS

The San Diego Unified School District has contracted with Tyler Technologies to purchase the cmpany's transportation-management system. The agreement also includes related professional services, maintenance and support.