Posted May 31, 2007  

Keys to Technology Success:
Management, Leadership

By ZACH PATTON

CHICAGO — When it comes to solving the problems of state and local governments and delivering services to citizens, technology isn’t the answer.

That was the somewhat surprising consensus among technology officials gathered in Chicago for Governing’s Managing Technology 2007 conference. In plenary sessions, breakout discussions and keynote speeches throughout the conference, key technologists reiterated that it’s not the newest, most innovative technology that’s important — it’s the proper management of that technology that will help governments innovate and improve citizen services.

”We have the technology we need,” said Teri Takai, president of the National Association of Chief Information Officers and the director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology. “What we need is the leadership, policy, practices and the will to use that technology to help improve the way we operate.”

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who welcomed the Governing conferees to his city in the kickoff session of the conference, agreed. “Technology has not turned out to be the magic bullet we thought it would be,” he said, “but it is a valuable tool to help our cities deliver services more efficiently.”

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley

Daley discussed the ways new technology has helped reduce crime in Chicago, including an extensive crime-mapping database used by the city police department and the security cameras installed in every city bus, in 1,000 rapid transit stations and at 400 other locations throughout the city. But Daley stressed that it’s the effective management of that kind of technology — and knowing how to use the data it provides — that has really allowed Chicago to reduce crime.

”Technology isn’t going to solve all our problems,” Daley said, “but all of us have something to add. And cities can continue to find new ways to deliver the services that citizens want.”

Still, providing citizens with access to technology is an important function of government. In a lunch address, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas talked about the potential of technology to transform the lives of citizens. “We know what innovation can do to change our lives, from laptops to MRIs,” he said. “We need to innovate if we’re going to be successful in the global 21st-century economy. The opportunities are literally limitless.”

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas

Douglas’ goal is to make Vermont the nation’s first “e-state” by 2010, with universal access to high-speed Internet and across-the-state cellular telephone coverage. “We need to understand the importance of universality of cellphone coverage, Internet access and data transfer the same way we saw the need for universal telephone service and electricity a generation or two ago,” Douglas said.

On the government side, however, the focus really is less about newer technology than about good management. Minnesota CIO Gopal Khanna, in a breakout session, underscored that sentiment as he discussed his efforts to break down silos in his state and improve agencies’ efficiency and ability to deliver the best services to citizens. “It’s not a technology issue for me,” Khanna said. “It’s a culture issue. Two percent of my job is about technology. Ninety-eight percent is about culture change.”

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