Anyone who has spent any time in the IT space is very familiar with the double-edged sword of “innovation.” In its vagueness, it could mean anything from progress to just “a good idea.”
In California’s case — especially the Office of Data and Innovation’s (ODI) case — the word means something real. In the post-DOGE world (the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency), the pressure is more on than ever to show improvements and innovations.
“The emphasis on efficiency is … not at all about cutting government programs or services; it’s about where can we find capacity and where can we improve that service delivery and customer experience for Californians?” ODI Director Jeffery Marino said during last week’s State of Technology — California Industry Forum*.
The state is further homing in on the solutions its employees turn to to make their lives, or at least their jobs, a little easier. Marino said the latest initiative, announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July, will pull intel from the roughly 240,000 state employees doing the work.
“We know that they know best what’s broken because they have to suffer with it in their hands every single day. We also know that they have found a lot of solutions already, and that there’s a ton of hacking the system happening out there every day with our state staff,” he said.
Part of this effort will be measuring and quantifying the challenges and solutions in question. That process is likely to uncover some of the weak spots in the system but will also create new opportunities to shore them up, Marino said.
“A lot of those foundational issues are going to get uncovered. And so, if anything, I think we can expect to hear about a lot more opportunities,” he said.
But be warned, vendors: Marino is looking for partners with vision, not just another bolt-on solution. He expects industry to approach the state with a well-formulated plan around how a solution or service will integrate sustainably.
As the Newsom administration winds to a close, Marino noted that there have been concerted efforts to make California government more efficient that focus on changing the culture in favor of efficiency and, yes, innovation.
“What we’re witnessing is part of a culture change that has been happening, and I think that — and this is something that the governor has said before — we’ve been focused on efficiencies and improving service delivery in California for a long time. We just didn’t have a golden chainsaw and do the dance on stage, right?” he said.
*The State of Technology — California Industry Forum was hosted by Government Technology, Industry Insider — California’s sister publication.