Gov. Rick Snyder, who spent six years in senior management for Gateway, took office in 2011 — and has since led a massive effort to modernize technology in Michigan government. Last year, he signed a state budget that established annual funding of nearly $50 million for upgrades to IT systems. Earlier, he backed a new grant program to nurture small, innovative projects, and another that incents local shared service initiatives.
At the heart of this activity is a simple concept: Government should treat citizens better. “In a lot of ways, we haven’t done the best by our customers,” Snyder said, pointing out how fragmented programs and services make government miserable to deal with. Modern technology, he says, is fundamental to improving the customer experience.
Ultimately the governor envisions a state portal and mobile apps that guide users through common government transactions — or better yet, performs them automatically. Snyder calls the concept MI Page — and perhaps more so than any of his statehouse peers, Snyder understands what it’ll take to get there. Thanks to his real-world IT project experience, Snyder knows the technology and grasps the importance of training and change management for the state workforce.
After two years in office, he’s left his stamp on how Michigan approaches technology. And by the time he’s done, citizens may look forward to their next digital interaction with state government.
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