The state’s former CIO Kuldip Mohanty announced his forthcoming departure in May, at which time Hoffman stepped up as interim CIO. Less than two months later, he was appointed as the state’s permanent CIO; and, having served as deputy CIO since April 2022, he was no stranger to IT leadership.
In fact, Hoffman has worked at NDIT since 2005. As he told Government Technology, this experience has enabled him to build connections across agency leadership, the Legislature, and the governor’s office. Forging relationships is a major part of a CIO’s role today, he said.
“The exciting part about this role is the ability to work across all of the facets of government,” Hoffman said, highlighting a collaborative approach to improving the experience residents have when interacting with state government.
His priorities, he said, largely align with those of his predecessor, Mohanty, who took a business-minded approach to advancing IT. Under Hoffman’s leadership, state IT will continue to prioritize advances in data literacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
The business mindset will continue as well, as one priority for Hoffman is the continued development of the Business Gateway. This single portal for businesses to access state government services is being expanded to include residents, too. The goal in coming years is for it to provide both groups with a streamlined way to get services. Said Hoffman: “It’s really going to be transformational.”
North Dakota is taking a whole-of-state approach to state cybersecurity and data governance, the CIO said, and over the next six months, NDIT will be working with agencies to educate leaders on best practices in both areas.
The data governance work, which involves developing a statewide data governance model, building out skill sets and data literacy within agencies, and establishing data ownership roles, is the foundation for other technologies — namely AI.
In AI, Hoffman underlined the work of what he deems an “informal task force” of stakeholders across sectors communicating about the broader AI strategy. It includes representation from state agencies, education (K-12 and higher ed), and the Legislature. One priority for the group is ensuring the state is preparing its graduating workforce to be AI-ready, which may involve establishing partnerships to meet evolving needs. Another priority is ensuring the underlying infrastructure on which future AI solutions are run is equipped for the technology.
“It’s a group of stakeholders with a vested interest in making sure that we’re not approaching AI within the state in silos,” Hoffman said, indicating this, like the state’s other technology initiatives, will be collaborative: “We are working as a group together to try to get to a future state.”
