April 1, 2008 By Tod Newcombe
Despite economic uncertainties, digital government is alive and kicking in the nation's largest cities. That's the impression CIOs from Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and New York City gave when they addressed hundreds of IT vendors in Tysons Corner, Va., yesterday for the annual Beyond the Beltway market briefing on state and local government IT.
Signaling a possible trend among tier-one cities, all three city CIOs who spoke at the event have had extensive prior experience in the private sector and seemed determined to use their knowledge about governance and innovation to bolster the role of IT in local government.
New York City CIO Paul Cosgrave talked of how Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 311 call center system has helped to make the nation's largest city more accountable, accessible and transparent.
With the clock ticking down -- Cosgrave's appointment as CIO will terminate when the mayor's term-limited administration ends -- the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) wants to take 311 to the next level. This includes making call information available over the Internet and enhancing the hotline with help from nonprofits, such as United Way.
But answering 40,000 calls daily is just one aspect of technology at work in the Big Apple. More than half of the city's billion-dollar-plus annual investment in IT goes toward public safety. For example, the city is building a $500 million public safety wireless network.
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Based off of discussions of the Digital Communities Large Jurisdiction Chief Information Officer (CIO) Working Group, this white paper aims to answer the question, "In today's economic, political and business environment, what constitutes a successful relationship between government and industry?" Cause for Optimism identifies and clarifies the issues that separate government and industry, and begins to find an answer to the question necessary for both to enjoy a successful and prosperous future.
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