West Virginia Chief Technology Officer Gale Given announced today the Center for Digital Government ranked West Virginia in the top eight states in the 2012 Digital States Survey. The states of Utah and Michigan received an “A” grade, while California, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia received an “A-“ grade.
Up from a “B” grade in 2010, West Virginia’s “A-“ grade reflects a sharply upward trend. Under the Digital States criteria, a grade of “A” reflects a state that is “trending sharply up. Demonstrated results across all categories. Modernization used to realize operational efficiencies and strategic priorities under nimble leaders. Evidence of meaningful collaboration. Performance measures and metrics widely adopted. Cuts tend to be made strategically.” Over the past two years, West Virginia has achieved success through the use of technology in the numerous areas, including:
- Modernization of numerous outdated systems and applications;
- Nationally recognized TransparencyWV.org for open government, which provides taxpayers access to state revenue and spending. This site was declared as a finalist in the 2012 National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Open Government Initiative awards (http://www.nascio.org/awards/2012awards);
- Continuation of e-government project for increased citizen engagement and streamlining government business practices through Collaborative Government-Community organizations;
- Private-public partnerships for innovative online resources;
- Improvement of consolidated technology governance as demonstrated by the Office of Technology’s Project Management Office and the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Steering Committee.
Since its inception 15 years ago, the Digital States Survey has helped benchmark state government use of digital technologies to improve service delivery, increase capacity, change cost structures and reach policy goals, according to the Center for Digital Government.
The 2012 survey focused on results achieved by states in a number of key areas, including a high bar as states continue to deal with budget cuts, a lagging recovery and increased demand for services. The Center states that letter grades are an effective way to reflect the work of states in this important area, with the end goal of improving performance state by state.
“By being ranked so highly on a national level, West Virginia should proudly applaud the progress which its state government has made in keeping up with the technological advances of today in serving its citizens,” Chief Technology Officer Given said. “The Office of Technology plans to use this recognition as an incentive for this office and the other state agencies to continue our great strides in enhancing technology in state government.”
The results of this survey may be publically viewed at www.centerdigitalgov.com. The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. Through its diverse and dynamic programs and services, the Center provides public and private sector leaders with decision support, knowledge, and opportunities to help them effectively incorporate new technologies in the 21st century.