According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. now experiences an average of $1 billion in climate disasters every three weeks. The country is also ahead of that number for 2024. As of August, 19 confirmed $1 billion climate disasters had occurred, including 15 severe storms, one tropical cyclone, one wildfire and two winter storms. This alarming frequency underscores the urgent need for action.
We live in a new climate where flooding, storms, and fire are no longer “one-off" emergencies. They are consistent and often catastrophic in scale and damage. Within this new reality, state CIOs have an evolving role to play.
THE CIO ROLE IS EVOLVING
Leaders responsible for managing agencies must adopt a new mindset focused on resilience, with water challenges at the forefront of their thinking.
Questions like, “How might water-related disasters impact my constituents and agency operations?” and “Where is my agency vulnerable to water-related disasters that could affect infrastructure, resources, transportation, emergency services, and constituent safety?” should be central to both short- and long-term planning.
CIOs were forced to adapt quickly during the pandemic, building new systems and tools that kept agencies running as the world adjusted to a “new normal.” This experience not only demonstrated CIOs' adaptability but also their potential to drive significant change. With the same ingenuity and enterprise mindset, we can lead our agencies toward a climate-resilient future, empowering us to make a real difference.
FOUR WAYS CIOS SHOULD ADAPT THEIR THINKING NOW
- Start With Constituent Needs
CIOs have traditionally approached problem-solving by focusing on technology first and then building solutions to meet constituent needs. Given the magnitude of the challenge posed by a changing water cycle, this approach should be reversed. CIOs should first deeply understand and anticipate constituent needs, then work backward to identify and create the best technology to address those needs. A fresh approach is essential given the urgency of the issues we face. - Take a Systems Approach
Every CIO should strive to build a resilient future for their agency. Resiliency must be defined with water at its core, as water underpins ecosystem and human health, food production, energy, and social and economic stability. Water should be at the forefront of resiliency planning because no community can be resilient without meeting its water needs. Understanding the interconnectedness of water challenges will help CIOs see how water quality and quantity changes affecting one agency will impact others.
CIOs should take an enterprise approach, collaborating with agriculture, economic development, food, transportation, electric and water utilities, environmental agencies, sustainability and resiliency officers, emergency management, recreation departments, and others to address water challenges. While each agency or department will have unique resiliency challenges, building enterprise-wide IT tools will create a foundation for a resilient, connected future.
An example of this approach is when, as Delaware’s CIO, my team partnered with the Department of Natural Resources to track and project sea-level rise along Delaware’s coastline. The insights from this data were shared across agencies, providing clarity for statewide resiliency planning. - Build Partnerships Proactively
Partnerships are critical to success. Engage early in addressing climate challenges across your network. The closer the alignment between central IT and its agencies, the more effective everyone will be. Ask agencies to educate your IT team about what they do. Encourage your team to get behind agencies’ missions, which will help your team see issues from the agency’s perspective and create effective IT strategies.
Lead with curiosity and empathy and help agencies understand how IT can contribute to the solutions they need. - Focus on Communication
IT plays a crucial role in effective communication. While every agency needs good data, the actual value of data comes from translation into sharable insights and visualizations. People relate to and internalize information best when it’s delivered as part of a compelling story. IT’s ability to bring data together and translate it into a meaningful narrative will help agencies clearly understand challenges and work together to solve them.
For example, CIOs can use True Elements’ Water Intelligence natural language interface to help people interrogate water data, put data in context, and determine the best course of action to address specific challenges.
Newer capabilities like AI can enhance communication by turning data into actionable information, helping people adapt to a new water and climate reality.
YOUR CONSTITUENTS ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS
Water is fundamental for any community, government, business or individual. As weather patterns become more erratic and severe, CIOs must adopt an innovative, enterprise mindset that leads to novel approaches to solving water-related challenges. They can start with understanding the most pressing community and constituent needs and working backward to build IT solutions rather than starting with technology to fit constituent needs to help ensure a resilient and prosperous future for all.
James Collins is the former CIO for the state of Delaware. He currently serves as public sector leader, Americas for Microsoft.
Kimberly Nelson had a 22-year career in public service in management and executive roles spanning both state and federal government. She joined True Elements, a water intelligence company, in January 2022 as chief operating officer.
