The NYS Forum, Inc.

Effective Use of Organizational Change Management Webcast
Recorded on March 28, 2013
(1 hour)

As New York State continues to make progress in implementing significant reforms in government operations, the practice of organizational change management offers tools that enable government leaders to respond to different levels of acceptance.

Designed to equip NYS Executives and their staff with a tool to assist in managing change effectively and in a disciplined manner, this webcast focuses on: 1) developing a model for organizational change that is repeatable and practical; 2) helping diagnose and leverage resistance to advance an agenda; and 3) sharing the experiences of other organizations that have addressed the challenges of organizational change.

Transformational change is a challenge for everyone and ensuring that our leadership has the resources to address the organizational issues is as important as the implementation of the new processes and protocols.

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RFP Best Practices in Information Technology Procurements

On March 6th, over 150 public and private sector buyers and sellers were on hand to discuss approaches, opportunities, challenges and ideas to help achieve mutually successful information technology procurements through effective Requests for Proposals (RFPs).

Leo Pfohl, Vice President of Genesys Consulting Services, welcomed the attendees and thanked all the panelists for giving of their time to address this important topic.  John Traylor, Chief Procurement Officer for the State of New York, provided introductory remarks and discussed the overall transformation underway in New York State government and the desire to be more efficient and effective in carrying out their mission.  New York State is learning about and adopting best practices from the private sector and from other governments.  Traylor noted that this event was a perfect opportunity to support that effort.

Facilitators Peter Chynoweth, Vice President of CMA, and Mark Kleinhenz, Purchasing Team Leader of NYS OGS, led the panelists and attendees through a very interactive discussion of topics relevant for issuers of and respondents to RFPs.  The morning session was focused on RFP Process & Administration Best Practices and included topics related to RFP Development, RFP Post-Release issues, and RFP Post-Proposal Receipt matters.  The afternoon agenda included in-depth discussion of topics related to Risk Mitigation and Terms and Conditions in addition to other contractual subjects.

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Project Origination and the Development of a Business Case

The key to a successful project is planning.  Will your project get you what you need?  Is your product what the consumer needs? How long is it really going to take?  These questions and many more were addressed during Jon Haverly's often humorous presentation on the development of a business case.  He used examples of product failures to illustrate his points and convinced the audience that the time spent in planning pays great benefits in the final results.  Sara Holmberg walked the audience through the new ITS Enterprise Project Management oversight process. Both presenters responded to a number of questions from the audience.  A number of suggestions were received for future presentations.  Jon and Sara's presentation can be viewed at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/PM_12_4_2012/

Annual Planning Session

The new Forum Executive Director, Joan Sullivan, welcomed over 100 government and corporate partners to The NYS Forum 2012 Annual Planning Session.  New York State is currently going through an IT transformation, the details of which are of great interest to all of our attendees.  We'd like to extend a special "thank you" to Mahesh Nattanmai, Unit Chief of the IT Budgeting and Strategy Unit of the NYS Division of the Budget, who provided a presentation addressing the status of the various IT enterprise projects currently underway and the challenges that lie ahead.
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Open Data - Open Government

What does open data - open government mean for New York State government entities? How do government entities deal with the ever growing groundswell to open data and the expectations for more, accurate and usable data? How and what needs to be considered as entities dive into the open data/open government pool?

On September 13th, The NYS Forum was pleased to welcome Robert J. Freeman, Executive Director, NYS Committee on Open Government; James Hendler, Head Computer Science Department, Tetherless World Constellation Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and John Kaehny, Executive Director, Reinvent Albany.
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Continuous IT Co$t Optimization - Doing More With Le$$

On August 22, The NYS Forum was host to providing a learning experience about trends, observations and proven strategies for IT cost optimization. Government agencies are challenged with the need to balance reduced costs during times of fiscal constraint with the goal of not only sustaining service delivery, but improving business operations.
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The Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act

The NYS Forum IT Greening Work Group hosted a webinar on August 21, entitled The Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act.
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Hurricane Irene Lessons Learned - Cloud Trends - Recovery Thoughts

The NYS Forum Emerging Technologies and Business Continuity Work Groups cohosted a NYS Executive Forum on August 16th in the Huxley Theater of the NYS Museum in Albany, NY.  Presenters came together to share the challenges and lessons learned from the back-to-back effects of the 2011 Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
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IT & Data Governance: Process and Implementation Strategies for Success

The New York State Forum Emerging Technologies work group hosted The NYS Executive Forum on July 12 which focused on IT and data governance and the strategies for a successful process and implementation.
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Business Process Redesign & Lean Management

NYS is undergoing a significant transformation on many levels. Just over one year ago, Governor Cuomo established the NYS SAGE Commission to improve the efficiency and quality of government services. Three objectives are identified in the SAGE Report: Improve Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Accountability. Business Process Redesign and Lean Management practices are referenced as strategies/practices to achieve these objectives.  
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Leadership and Transformation

On June 20th, The NYS Forum IT Corporate Roundtable was honored to have Commissioner RoAnn M. Destito address its members with a general overview of the transformation changes currently underway. Commissioner Destito is leading transformational changes at the Office of General Services (OGS) as it implements programs in support of Governor Cuomo's vision to change the way government does business and make it more effective, efficient, and responsive to the needs of citizens.  Destito is intensifying OGS' focus on procuring services and commodities at best value and maximizing the use of state-owned and leased office space.  Destito is the first woman to be confirmed as OGS Commissioner.
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Procurement Changes in NYS Article VII

On May 11, The NYS Forum IT Procurement Work Group brought together a panel of public and private sector subject experts to speak to the significant procurement changes recently passed in Article VII of the 2012-2013 New York State Executive Budget.
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Update on the Strategic Progress of SLMS

The New York State Governor's Office of Employee Relations (GOER) has implemented an enterprise learning management system (SLMS) for use by all agencies to manage and deliver training.  On April 27, Moses Kamya, Ph.D., CIO, Director Statewide Learning Management System, GOER, provided an overview of the SLMS to The NYS Forum IT Corporate Roundtable members at the Ft. Orange Club in Albany, NY.

SLMS supports training for State employees and will also meet the needs of agencies whose mission is to provide training for external constituents such as first responders.  The system will replace several stand-alone learning management systems that exist in state agencies today utilizing disparate standards for training administration and management, online course development, and delivery.  SLMS is being implemented in phases with all agencies expected to come online by September 2013.  
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CTG: A Global Resource in Public Sector IT

The mission of the Center for Technology in Government (CTG) at the University at Albany is to foster public sector innovation, enhance capability, generate public value, and support good governance.  On March 23rd, Theresa Pardo, Center Director and Meghan Cook, Program Manager, provided an overview of CTG to members of The NYS Forum IT Corporate Roundtable.  The basic building blocks of CTG include:  problem-solving applied research; formal academic research; executive advice and education; and formal education.
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NYS's Enterprise Shared Services Initiatives

The Huxley Theatre of the NYS Museum was the place to be the morning of Friday, March 2.  Ronald L. Greenberg, First Deputy Director of the NYS Division of the Budget addressed nearly 100 NYS Forum IT Corporate Roundtable members and government CIOs.  Those in attendance got a sneak peek at NYS's Enterprise Shared Services Initiatives that are being developed to transform New York State's back-office operations in the areas of Procurement, Real Estate, Business Services Center, Statewide IT Transformation, Call Center Consolidation and E-Licensing.
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Health IT and New York State's Health Care Transformation Strategy

On January 27, The NYS Forum IT Corporate Roundtable provided a platform for Rachel Block to speak to the Health IT and New York State's Health Care Transformation Strategy.  The audience comprised nearly 80 ITCR members and select representatives of NYS Chief Information Officers.

Rachel Block, Deputy Commissioner for Health IT Transformation, NYS Department of Health is the lead on New York State's effort to adopt wide-scale changes to Health IT and encourage wide-scale adoption of technologies, common practices and guidelines.  Deputy Commissioner Block has overseen development and implementation of New York's statewide health information technology strategy since May 2009.  She was the founding executive director for the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), a statewide multi-stakeholder organization committed to advancing health information technology adoption and use in New York from 2006-2009.  
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The NYS Executive Forum: IT Transformation & Strategic Sourcing in NYS

On January 13th, Daniel C. Chan, Acting NYS Chief Information Officer and Acting Director of NYS Office for Technology and John C. Traylor, Director of Enterprise Shared Services at the  NYS Division of the Budget, presented to nearly 400 attendees at the Clark Auditorium in the NYS Museum.  
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The NYS Executive Forum: Statewide Financial System (SFS): Transforming the Way New York State Does Business

On Friday, October 14, members of the New York Statewide Financial System (SFS) Program addressed an audience comprised of government and corporate attendees interested in learning how New York State is transforming the way it does business. SFS featured presenters included Michael McDermott, Change Manager; Alison Pingelski, Deployment and Business Lead; Connie Rowe, Deployment Manager; and John Corbett, Assistant Director Bureau of State Expenditures, NYS Office of the State Comptroller.  
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Operating IT as a Business Within a Business

State government entities have made significant progress in adopting governance processes to prioritize and manage IT projects. Despite progress, agency IT organizations are often viewed as unresponsive and offering services that are not aligned with the needs of the business. These perceptions are exacerbated by increasing demands to reduce agency budgets. As government entities face these challenges is it reasonable to expect that they can also balance supply and demand for IT services, add value and satisfy their customers?

On September 9, 2011 attendees at The NYS Executive Forum: heard from Kevin Belden, Deputy Comptroller - Chief Information Officer, NYS Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) on how to Create an Internal IT Economy that supports operating IT as a business within a business. Belden presented tangible and humorous examples to examine the value and impact of consumer/provider relationships, accountability in the general marketplace and the benefit of adopting similar practices in the public sector.  
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For older articles please see our Forum News Archive