Edited By Bob Monn

Building Digital Government | December 1999 Board Meeting

Building Digital Government

-- By Thomas Bynum, Assistant Commissioner, Technology Services Division, Employment Services Department (ESD) and Chair, DIS Customer Advisory Board

As part of his administration’s response to the passage of Initiative 695, Governor Gary Locke has directed agencies to streamline their internal business processes and "expand on-line government services to provide easier access for the public."

Digital Government is the term used to describe this new way of doing the state’s business, but the phrase often raises more questions than it answers. What does digital government really mean? How does it work? When will it be a reality?

Digital government can be defined as a set of web-based applications and e-commerce tools, combined with the policies for building, managing and launching them in a well-coordinated way. But digital government is more than the sum of its operational parts. It is a means to a more perfect end —transforming Washington State into the most citizen-centric government in the nation.

From online banking to book shopping, customers have come to expect — even demand — one-stop online services. A coordinated approach to digital government will allow Washington State to provide this kind of service in the public sector. And with more government-to-government processes performed online, Washington State will deliver another significant customer benefit: reduction in the cost of doing business.

The Digital Government Plan

In November, the Customer Advisory Board was asked to review a draft of the Washington State Digital Government Plan which was prepared at the direction of the Information Services Board. The plan contains timelines for coordinating and launching several agencies’ high-priority digital government projects by June 2000. It also describes a "build it once" approach for project managers to apply existing architecture, components and early lessons learned to new projects.

The cornerstone of the Digital Government Plan is agency collaboration on Internet applications, infrastructure, and policy. Uncoordinated agency development will result in multiple Internet logins, passwords and plug-ins for citizen and business users, as well as security risks for financial transactions. It will also mean higher development costs for the agencies themselves.

The enterprise view matters in digital government.  The state is working to prevent the development of "stovepipe" or independent applications. Internet applications, infrastructure and policy will intercept and interlock by June 2000 to provide the foundation for current and future digital government projects.

The goal, or target, of digital government is defined and in view.  The plan describes the Washington state approach.  We are coming at the target from three sides concurrently – applications, infrastructure, and policy.  The initial, high profile digital government applications include Internet-based vehicle tab renewals and master business license applications at the Department of Licensing (DOL), procurement at General Administration (GA), and joint tax filing among those agencies with taxing authority.  The DOL and GA projects have been formally initiated and approved by the Information Services Board.  At the same time, infrastructure project teams are working aggressively toward establishing a state certification authority, Internet security architecture, and electronic payment infrastructure.  There is considerable movement on the policy front too, with the adoption of a state IT investment policy that addresses digital government and Internet standards that provide guidance to agencies as they build out next generation applications.

In each area, there is a role for the public-sector IT community to engage and organizations through which it can contribute meaningfully to the process – the Customer Advisory Board and the Technology Architecture Advisory Group (TAAG).  That is in addition to working within our respective agencies to create an environment within which digital government can thrive.

Government is going digital.  It is inevitable.  We can hasten the inevitable by making smart choices now.  Like the birth of television or radio before it, digital government is being shaped by its pioneers.  A little nervous tension is understandable at moments like these but stage fright won’t do.  The rehearsals are done, the stage is set, and the lights have been cued.  It's showtime, folks.

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December 1999 Board Meeting Minutes

Members Present:  Jim Albert, Mary Ellen Bradley, Thomas Bynum, Phil Coates, Dennis Laine, Mike McVicker, Bob Monn, Don Price, Darrel Riffe, Shelagh Taylor.

Shelagh Taylor, IPMA Chair, opened the December 9, 1999 meeting of the Board at 7:40 a.m. 

Reports

Secretary:  The minutes from the November Board meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s Report:  Phil Coates presented the monthly report of financial activity.  The Board approved the report.

Business Planning:  Shelagh Taylor will send the investment material to board members when she receives it. An annual report was not completed for 1998.  Phil Coates and Shelagh will research if we need to publish a report for 1998.  It will be the Vice Chair’s responsibility to prepare the 1999 report.

Executive Seminar: Darrel Riffe stated that Skamania Lodge will lower their rates for us next year.  He proposed that the Executive Seminar be held at Skamania Lodge next year on September 11 – 13, 2000 (Monday – Wednesday).  This is a slight change from the scheduling from the past several years.

Forum: Jim Albert reported that his committee is meeting regularly.  They have completed the vendor booth layouts at St. Martin’s College and are currently working on finalizing the speaker list.  The board recommended continuing the Executive Breakfast on the morning following the Forum.  The breakfast will be held at the Worthington Center at St. Martin’s.

Professional Development:  Dennis Laine reported that he is working on the February event.  At this time he is not sure where it will be held.

Communications:  Bob Monn reported that he will have an article on Washington's  digital government plan written by Paul Taylor for this month's newsletter. Bob has added a search function to the IPMA web site and a redesign of the site is scheduled to be implemented in January or February. 

Board Elections:  Mike McVicker reported that Dennis Jones and Doug Tanabe agreed to run this year.  Ballots had been sent to the 111 IPMA members and are to be returned by December 20, 1999.   Election results will be announced in the February newsletter.

NEW BUSINESS: 

Mary Ellen Bradley reported that Campbell’s Resort is available for the IPMA board's annual planning meeting any time in January or February.   The board felt that either February 17-18 or February 24-25 would be the best dates.  They are to contact Mary Ellen if these dates will not work. 

Phil Coates reminded the board that he will be retiring from the board after next month’s meeting.

Don Price invited members to attend a Department of Corrections Open House for the OMNI project.  This event will be held on Thursday, December 16 from 1:00 to 4:00.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 a.m.

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