David Wilkinson, who has been the commissioner of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood for two years, will step into the new role in order to carry out a vision Gov. Ned Lamont laid out in his budget earlier this year: to cut costs through increasing efficiency, improve digital services and upgrade IT infrastructure.
“I think that Connecticut is taking an approach that’s unlike any other state,” Wilkinson said. “So we are not only launching a performance management system, but also buttressing that with, I think, a really exciting approach to digital transformation and data and procurement policy.”
The idea is to expand beyond simply monitoring whether the state’s agencies are meeting key performance indicators and start using modern technology, data sharing and performance management in tandem in order to create a more collaborative and citizen-focused government. In some areas, collaboration might avoid hours spent on duplicate work. In others, shared data might help the state figure out where to invest money on solutions to prevent future costs.
“By linking jail and emergency room data, the state can reveal the portion of homeless population for which supportive housing would yield savings to the state and better results for our most vulnerable,” a press release from the governor’s office reads.
Another effort Wilkinson will be involved with is creating a “digital front door” to help deliver more online services — things like driver’s license renewals, business permits and benefit enrollment — in a more streamlined fashion to residents.
“Our residents expect excellent services online and our government hasn’t really kept up,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson’s position is cabinet-level, and he will report to both Chief Operating Officer Paul Mounds and the governor. Because so much of his work will involve technology and data, he’ll be collaborating with CIO Mark Raymond, Chief Data Officer Tyler Kleykamp and Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Josh Geballe.
“I think we have this digital results dream team that the governor has put together,” he said.
