The conference agenda was packed with two amazing keynote sessions; best-practice breakouts; discussions on cybersecurity, digital transformation, generative AI (GenAI), CIO priorities and much more.
I was especially impressed with both Monday and Tuesday morning’s keynote presentations. You can learn more about Chef Jeff Henderson’s Pinnacle Keynote: “If you can see it, you can be it,” presentation in the video below.
TOP CONFERENCE TOPICS AND TAKEAWAYS
Over the past week, Government Technology did an excellent job of capturing the key takeaways from many of the NASCIO sessions, so I point you to those articles below. While I offer some excerpts from each, I urge readers to visit each article to learn more on relevant topics.
First, we have "IT Must Support Digital Services, NASCIO's CIO Survey Says."
"The National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ (NASCIO) new State CIO Survey, released Tuesday during its 2024 Annual Conference, highlights public officials’ sentiments toward generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and other technology trends that play a role in digital government.
"AI has already proven to be a topic of focus at the yearly convening of public-sector IT leaders, with experts talking about how to successfully implement the technology. And while last year’s survey focused largely on financial models, this year’s edition examines how an organization’s structure, workforce and technology portfolio can pave the way for digital transformation.
"During the conference session 'The 2024 State CIO Survey: Building Blocks of the Next Generation CIO,' Washington state CIO Bill Kehoe emphasized a longer-term vision of making government services more digital and mobile, by understanding the current experience and using human-centered design practices to improve it: 'It will take not only CIOs but collaborations with governors, legislators and agencies.'"
Next, Government Technology highlighted the cybersecurity survey session in this piece: "Third-Party Breaches, AI Top CISOs’ Threat Lists."
“State CISOs’ responsibilities are growing, and they’re bracing for rising challenges like third-party security breaches and AI-assisted cyber threats. At the same time, CISOs are struggling with familiar challenges around insufficient budgets and staffing. And the CISO post itself can be hard to keep filled: on average state CISOs now remain in office about 1.9 years, down from 2.5 years in 2022. All that’s according to the newest, biannual Deloitte-NASCIO Cybersecurity Study, released today.
“Hiring for a CISO-level position can often take six months or more, and given CISOs’ short average tenures, 'for a four-year cycle, you are almost saying that for a good portion of the time there may not be a CISO in the state,' Srini Subramanian, Deloitte global consulting services leader for government and public services, said Monday during the 2024 NASCIO Annual Conference.
“States are also changing what they expect from their cybersecurity leaders, per the report. Many CISOs now have privacy responsibilities, whether that’s by overseeing chief privacy officers or handling both roles themselves. Eighty-six percent of states have CISOs handling privacy, a significant leap from the 60 percent who did the same in 2022.”
When you go straight to the report, you will learn that the survey results helped us identify five common themes reflecting the specific challenges that state CISOs are facing — and takeaways suggesting what they might do to move forward.
- The expanding role of the state CISO
- The hazards and opportunities of GenAI
- Budgeting and funding remain uncomfortably murky
- An evolving approach to cyber threats
- The cyber workforce — foundational to everything
CIO INTERVIEWS LEADING TO STATE-SPECIFIC STORIES
Govtech.com reporters interviewed many state CIOs, and the following articles came from those discussions.
To start, we have "How Mississippi Plans to Attract Young Technology Talent."
“State CIO Craig Orgeron said he believes many young tech professionals have the desire to do public service. At the NASCIO 2024 Annual Conference, he talked about seemingly small changes that might attract those workers.
“States are striving to land fresh talent in a variety of ways, including by paying to educate promising candidates. Agencies need to replace workers ready to retire while hiring professionals who can handle modern programming languages, artificial intelligence and other relatively new parts of the government technology work.
“In Mississippi, updated job classifications are helping Orgeron and his colleagues sell the idea of doing at least a short tenure in gov tech. That means, for instance, that the state can offer job classifications in the public cloud or cybersecurity or other areas that match the realities of the private job market.
“'It’s sort of a conversational game-changer,' Orgeron said."
Next, we have: "Can the Illinois CIO Move Away from a Chargeback Model?"
“At NASCIO, Illinois CIO Sanjay Gupta says he has won direct appropriations for tech from state officials. He wants to move away from the chargeback model eventually, which he says will result in better services. ...”
Next, "AI Is in ‘Productivity Phase’ as CIOs Mull Environmental Impact."
“At this stage of the hype cycle, artificial intelligence is demonstrating real value to state IT organizations. Arizona CIO J.R. Sloan is optimistic that solutions to emerging concerns around escalating energy use are on the way. ...”
Finally, "Missouri Takes New Single Sign-On Citizen Portal Live."
“In 2022, then-Missouri CIO Jeff Wann and his team were embarking upon foundational technical work on a public-facing web portal, enabled by some recently secured funding. Now that the technical backbone has been established, the project is live and rapidly gaining momentum. At the National Association of State CIOs Annual Conference this week, Missouri Deputy CIO Paula Peters talked with Government Technology about where the resident portal stands today, and what she envisions for the future.
“Missouri’s effort mirrors what so many states are engaged in: simplifying the way residents interact with government and removing as much friction as possible from the process.
“Today, the online portal offers 744 services, according to Peters, though 'only a few' use the single sign-on system so far. 'We hope to be adding more of them as single sign-on so that people can go in and not really have to understand how government is organized,' she said.
“Initiatives like the citizen portal, Peters added, help the state recruit new talent by offering the chance to do truly impactful work. …”
FINAL THOUGHTS
As in previous years, I truly enjoyed attending the NASCIO conference in 2024, especially for the networking opportunities and the chance to build professional relationships in a variety of ways.
The resources offered at the NASCIO portal library offer great case studies and projects that can be emulated nationwide by other governments.
I urge readers to visit the NASCIO Awards page, where you will find amazing state government projects and award winners in different categories, including cybersecurity, for the past five years.
