Partnerships, Cooperation Key to Long-Term Gov Tech Success

Source: Gov Tech Published: April/May 2020

Public-sector agencies are often tasked to “do more with less,” but challenges faced by today's gov tech leaders are more manageable when tackled with support from peers at all levels of government.

State and local government technology leaders are facing strong headwinds. Ransomware and cyberattacks are commonplace. Technology officials responsible for election security are under constant pressure and scrutiny. And the new COVID-19 virus has further complicated the already action-packed agendas of CIOs and IT management. Most technology departments are short of staff, funding and time.

How can we cope with these issues? It’s important to remember that we can’t and shouldn’t go it alone. 2020 presents a golden opportunity to connect or reconnect with our peers, residents and colleagues across the technology spectrum. We often overlook talent and resources in our backyard as well as around the country. We get so busy in daily operations that we may miss tangible ways to strengthen our team’s resiliency. Let’s look at some ideas to boost your capacity to undertake the current threats and challenges.

We have friends and significant resources at the federal level. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency offers substantial training, tools and support for state and local agencies. The Center for Internet Security and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center are outstanding organizations willing to help. Additionally, the United States Digital Service, 18F and the Defense Digital Service at the Department of Defense are doing amazing and inspiring work for all of us to model after.

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