State and Local Governments Face an Efficiency Mandate

Efficiency and innovation are becoming central to state and local government technology strategies, spurred by a powerful combination of executive orders, changing federal funding streams and accelerating modernization needs.

In a recent livestream briefing, e.Republic President Dustin Haisler and Chief Innovation Officer Joe Morris unpacked these trends, offered advice on what government and industry leaders should do now, and announced Government Technology’s launch of a new Government Efficiency Initiative.

NONPARTISAN AND NON-NEGOTIABLE

Efficiency and optimization aren’t new goals in government, but they’re gaining greater urgency and visibility.

“Efficiency and optimization have become a little bit of a partisan thing, where they’re really not,” Haisler said. “We’re seeing it in red states and blue states alike. Don’t confuse the mechanism — like a specific bill or committee — for the outcome.”

Across the political spectrum, states like California, Texas and Florida are using different models to achieve similar results: streamlining service delivery, modernizing IT systems and extending impact with limited resources. The push toward modernization is also being fueled by exponential technologies like AI, automation and digital platforms.

Morris and Haisler outlined four strategic areas where agencies should focus:

1. Optimize operations and reduce technical debt. Agencies need to create a foundation that enables AI and automation while reducing long-term costs and risks.
2. Upskill and support the workforce. State and local governments are still down more than 1 million employees since 2020. “Continue to upskill your workforce,” said Morris, emphasizing that change management must be built into every new initiative.
3. Prepare for outcome-based funding. Future federal grant programs will likely include greater focus on return on investment and impact reporting.
4. Pursue new partnership models. Public-private and public-public-private partnerships are key to sharing risk, scaling innovation and closing capacity gaps.

ADVICE FOR INDUSTRY

Companies serving the public sector need to shift their approach from pitching tools to solving real problems, said Haisler. “Focus on the outcomes you’re helping agencies achieve. This is the time where you need to do something.”

Morris added: “Understand that the state and local government market is very different from federal. What works in one state may need to be messaged very differently in another — but there are horizontal themes like return on investment, efficiency and optimization that will resonate everywhere.”

THE GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY INITIATIVE

Government Technology’s Government Efficiency Initiative will curate innovative ideas, critical information and successful actions from state and local governments as they transition to a new era of efficiency and optimization. It includes:

• A live tracker of efficiency-related executive orders and state initiatives.
• Use cases, interviews and best practices from across the country.
• Curated analysis by Haisler and Morris, including AI-assisted insights.
• A submission portal for governments and companies to share resources and success stories.

“Constraint breeds innovation,” said Haisler. “We want to elevate what’s working and make it visible and replicable.”

This article is an AI-generated summary of a livestream conversation between Dustin Haisler and Joe Morris, hosted by e.Republic.