Quite a few states have innovation programs, mechanisms for jumpstarting new and interesting ways to improve government, but Nicholas Stowe, Washington state's outgoing chief technology officer, shares on this week’s Priorities Podcast why he thinks his state’s innovation and modernization program has enjoyed an especially favorable success rate. “We really tried to maximize reusing existing governance processes,” he says. Also on this episode is Wendy Wickstrom, web and user experience manager at Washington Technology Solutions, who shares how flipping a procurement process upside-down helped the state create what officials say is a new model for reducing risk and fostering a more connected government. “We knew we wanted agency participation, but we didn’t want to dictate every deliverable that they gave us,” she says.
This week’s top stories:
After receiving letters from the Department of Justice requesting access to state voter data, 10 Democratic secretaries of state on Tuesday drafted their own letter, citing “immense concern” with how that data might have been shared across the federal government. The secretaries write that in recent meetings with DOJ and Department of Homeland Security officials they received “misleading and at times contradictory information” on the topic of their unredacted statewide voter rolls.
The House of Representatives passed a bill by voice vote Monday evening that would reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. Enjoying bipartisan support, the Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience, or PILLAR, Act is now open to be considered by the Senate.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Tuesday announced it’s issued approvals to 18 states on their final proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday. For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud or Spotify.
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Quite a few states have innovation programs, mechanisms for jumpstarting new and interesting ways to improve government, but Nicholas Stowe, Washington state's outgoing chief technology officer, shares on this week’s Priorities Podcast why he thinks his state’s innovation and modernization program has enjoyed an especially favorable success rate. “We really tried to maximize reusing existing governance processes,” he says. Also on this episode is Wendy Wickstrom, web and user experience manager at Washington Technology Solutions, who shares how flipping a procurement process upside-down helped the state create what officials say is a new model for reducing risk and fostering a more connected government. “We knew we wanted agency participation, but we didn’t want to dictate every deliverable that they gave us,” she says.
This week’s top stories:
After receiving letters from the Department of Justice requesting access to state voter data, 10 Democratic secretaries of state on Tuesday drafted their own letter, citing “immense concern” with how that data might have been shared across the federal government. The secretaries write that in recent meetings with DOJ and Department of Homeland Security officials they received “misleading and at times contradictory information” on the topic of their unredacted statewide voter rolls.
The House of Representatives passed a bill by voice vote Monday evening that would reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. Enjoying bipartisan support, the Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience, or PILLAR, Act is now open to be considered by the Senate.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Tuesday announced it’s issued approvals to 18 states on their final proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday. For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud or Spotify.
Redesigning a ‘repetitive and clunky’ learning program with AI
Priorities Podcast
21 minutes 25 seconds
3 weeks ago
Redesigning a ‘repetitive and clunky’ learning program with AI
A learning program for notaries in Indiana was not getting good reviews. Robert Fulk, the chief information officer for the Indiana Secretary of State’s office said people thought it was outdated, long, repetitive and clunky. And it was, until his office redesigned it from top to bottom using AI. Artificial intelligence is now infused into every aspect of the program, from its instructional content to its audio and video assets. “It’s really engaging for the learners,” Fulk says on the latest Priorities Podcast.
Also joining this episode is Patrick Carter, vice president of state practice at Results for America, who says that more states than ever are using evidence-based decisionmaking in their budgets. It’s catching on in other areas, too, he says, but it’s still a relatively unused practice. Budget downturns and declining state revenues could turn that around, though. That, and the practice’s increased body of knowledge and winning examples. “We’ve learned lots of lessons from governments over the last 10-20 years about what works,” Carter says.
Top stories this week:
The Rockefeller Foundation and the nonprofit Center for Civic Futures on Tuesday unveiled a new effort, called the AI Readiness Project, aimed at preparing state governments to use artificial intelligence tools to improve how they administer services to the public.
The Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University is also ramping up its efforts to support AI work in state and local governments. Andrew Merluzzi, who’s serving as its new AI innovation and incubation fellow, said he thinks the recent years of groundwork are finally beginning to bear fruit.
The Federal Communications Commission last week voted to approve an order that will roll back caps on phone and video calls to and from prisons and jails. Some rates are expected to double.
New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday. For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,Soundcloud or Spotify.
Priorities Podcast
Quite a few states have innovation programs, mechanisms for jumpstarting new and interesting ways to improve government, but Nicholas Stowe, Washington state's outgoing chief technology officer, shares on this week’s Priorities Podcast why he thinks his state’s innovation and modernization program has enjoyed an especially favorable success rate. “We really tried to maximize reusing existing governance processes,” he says. Also on this episode is Wendy Wickstrom, web and user experience manager at Washington Technology Solutions, who shares how flipping a procurement process upside-down helped the state create what officials say is a new model for reducing risk and fostering a more connected government. “We knew we wanted agency participation, but we didn’t want to dictate every deliverable that they gave us,” she says.
This week’s top stories:
After receiving letters from the Department of Justice requesting access to state voter data, 10 Democratic secretaries of state on Tuesday drafted their own letter, citing “immense concern” with how that data might have been shared across the federal government. The secretaries write that in recent meetings with DOJ and Department of Homeland Security officials they received “misleading and at times contradictory information” on the topic of their unredacted statewide voter rolls.
The House of Representatives passed a bill by voice vote Monday evening that would reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. Enjoying bipartisan support, the Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience, or PILLAR, Act is now open to be considered by the Senate.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Tuesday announced it’s issued approvals to 18 states on their final proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday. For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud or Spotify.
