Missouri Takes New Single Sign-On Citizen Portal Live
The state hasn't broadly promoted the service yet, but Deputy CIO Paula Peters hopes one day residents across Missouri will also be able to access local government services through the platform.
NEW ORLEANS — 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.
“I think that it’s one of the best playgrounds to work in because you get the opportunity to be able to come up with ideas and things that you think you want to do to move forward and you have the opportunity to go request funding for those things and really be able to make a difference in citizens’ lives,” she said.
Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.
Jule Pattison-Gordon is a senior staff writer for <i>Government Technology.</i> She previously wrote for PYMNTS and <i>The Bay State Banner</i>, and holds a B.A. in creative writing from Carnegie Mellon. She’s based outside Boston.<br/>
