“Digital counties have evolved to recognize the value of technology, empower their tech leaders and use new ideas to make life better for everyone who lives and does business in the county,” said Todd Sander, executive director, CDG. “The Center for Digital Government congratulates this year’s winners for their work to innovate, improve transparency and proactively address citizen demands and expectations.”
“Modern technology allows counties across the country to innovate, providing citizens with smarter, more cost-effective services,” said NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase. “The Digital Counties Survey recognizes county innovations that truly benefit our communities and, by extension, America.”
This year’s first-place winners include:
Wake County, N.C. (500,000 or more population category): The county launched an open data portal to allow citizens and businesses access to a broad array of county data. The county also hired a data scientist to analyze disparate data sets and enable it to make more informed business decisions.
Sonoma County, Calif. (250,000-499,999 population category): The county’s technology group is fully engaged in supporting the county’s strategic goals, while an emphasis on open data creates citizen confidence in government and allows for meaningful discussions. Collaboration with other jurisdictions gives citizens access to all data from a single entry point.
Arlington County, Va. (150,000-249,999 population category): Arlington County reorganized their IT team into two areas – one focused on traditional IT support and one focused on innovation. The change resulted in several new technology initiatives, including new mobile apps and open data projects. The county also implemented a management structure composed of team leads (“team of teams”) to improve communications, goal sharing and production.
Nevada County, Calif. (up to 150,000 population category): Nevada County lost 28 percent of its staff during the recession. To offset the loss, the county implemented new technology to improve workforce productivity, enable citizen self-service offerings, and enhance organizational efficiencies.
The Center for Digital Government thanks the underwriters for this year’s survey: Accela and Laserfiche.
Congratulations to the 2016 Digital Counties Survey Winners!
500,000 or more population category:
1st Wake County, NC
2nd Fairfax County, VA
2nd Montgomery County, MD
3rd Sacramento County, CA
3rd County of San Diego, CA
4th County of Alameda, CA
4th King County, WA
4th Miami-Dade County, FL
5th Oakland County, MI
6th Baltimore County, MD
6th Prince George’s County, MD
7th Bexar County, TX
7th Orange County, FL
8th County of Ventura, CA
8th Hennepin County, MN
8th Westchester County, NY
9th Los Angeles County, CA
10th Chester County, PA
10th Cook County, IL
250,000-499,999 population category:
1st Sonoma County, CA
2nd Chesterfield County, VA
3rd Dakota County, MN
4th Loudoun County, VA
5th Cumberland County, NC
5th Dutchess County, NY
6th Bell County, TX
7th Leon County, FL
7th Ottawa County, MI
8th County of Santa Cruz, CA
9th Douglas County, CO
10th Dauphin County, PA
10th Richland County, SC
150,000-249,999 population category:
1st Arlington County, VA
2nd Charles County, MD
3rd Frederick County, MD
4th St. Tammany Parish, LA
5th Boone County, MO
6th Cabarrus County, NC
7th Davidson County, NC
8th Oneida County, NY
9th Delaware County, OH
10th County of Barnstable, MA
Up to 150,000 Population Category
1st Nevada County, CA
2nd Albemarle County, VA
2nd Allegan County, MI
3rd Roanoke County, VA
4th Montgomery County, VA
5th Brunswick County, NC
6th Coconino County, AZ
7th Goochland County, VA
7th Martin County, FL
8th Skagit County, WA
9th Franklin County, VA
10th Summit County, UT
10th Tompkins County, NY
CLICK HEREfor the article, map and info on each of our winners.
SELECTED SURVEY FINDINGS:
2016 Top ten technologies and initiatives which are likely to have an increased focus in the next year:
1. Cyber Security
2. Mobility/Mobile Applications
3. Hire/Retain IT Personnel; and Open Government
4. Disaster Recovery/Continuity of Operations
5. Budget/ Cost Control
6. Portal/ E-government
7. Citizen Engagement
8. Shared or Collaborative Services
9. Business Process Automation; and Virtualization
10. Business Intelligence/Analytics
How many staff (FTE equivalents) across the enterprise support county IT?
68% have fewer than 100 staff
Top 5 Most Widely-Adopted Technologies - County-Wide:
92% End Point Security and Wireless Infrastructure
83% Redundant/ Offsite Data Storage
81% Board/ elected body Public Meetings Videoed, Archived, Searchable online
81% ECM (Enterprise Content Management), Document Management, Workflow
78% Broadband Infrastructure
78% Shared or Collaborative Services
77% Performance Benchmarks, Measurement & Reporting
77% Threat Detection
77% Web Analytics
The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute focused on technology policy and best practices in state and local government. CDG is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government and education.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) unites America’s 3,069 county governments. Founded in 1935, NACo brings county officials together to advocate with a collective voice on national policy, exchange ideas and build new leadership skills, pursue transformational county solutions, enrich the public’s understanding of county government and exercise exemplary leadership in public service.
Contact: Janet Grenslitt, Director of Surveys and Awards jgrenslitt@centerdigitalgov.com
