Small/Medium/Local Government Agency SIG Initiatives and Accomplishments

2007-2008 Committee Accomplishments

2008-2009 Committee Projected Initiatives

Items in italics under "2008-2009 Projected Initiatives" for each committee are those suggested at the Annual NYS Forum Planning Session held on July 11, 2008. Any initiatives receiving priority votes cast by participants on July 11th are bolded and in blue and the number of votes cast is shown in parenthesis.

The Small/Medium Agency SIG was created to focus on addressing the unique problems and concerns that arise, in part, due to the small size of the IT staff and the restricted IT budgets typical to small agencies. It was also created to provide a focal point for policy makers to access small agency perspectives and realities that should be reflected in new policies, laws and regulations.

2007-2008 Accomplishments

Education

  • Conducted an educational seminar, Email Archiving: It's Impact on Small and Medium Agencies and Local Government at the Empire State Plaza on October 25th, 2007. The event was well attended with every available seat filled. Email Archiving issues have a tremendous impact on Small and Medium Agencies and Local Government. The focus of the presentations and the roundtable discussions that followed were on identifying requirements and solutions, and discussing how these issues uniquely impact Small and Medium Agencies and Local Government. Registrants provided their issues and topics at the time of registration and roundtable discussion groups were created based on this list. Guest speakers were: Marguerite Beirne, Deputy CIO, Westchester County; Geof Huth, Director, Government Records Services, New York State Archives; and Ann Marie Przybyla, Manager, Records Service Development, New York State Archives
  • Conducted a two part educational seminar, Shared and Managed IT Services. Tight fiscal times and rising customer expectations are facing today's IT organizations. These challenges create opportunities for synergy. Whether it is collaboration or consolidation, shared or managed, there are generally both benefits and risks to each approach. Our attendees heard from industry experts about ways other government IT organizations are leveraging shared and managed technology services to meet customer needs. This was a very informative discussion of IT trends and best practices as we all face demanding times. This was presented as two separate events.
    • On Tuesday, May 6, 2008, at the Saratoga Springs Hilton Hotel, the session Shared and Managed IT Services for Local Government was presented at the New York State Local Government IT Directors Association's (NYSLGITDA) Summer Conference. Guest speakers were: Ed Hemminger, CIO of Ontario County NY and President of NYSLGITDA; David A. Wilson, Managing Director, Finance & Administration Industry, Accenture State & Local Government Client Service Group; and Dale Strange, Director of Services, Dell Public Accounts
    • On Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at the Empire State Plaza, the session Shared and Managed Services for NYS Agencies was presented. Guest speakers were: Dan Healy, Deputy CIO, NY State; David A. Wilson, Managing Director, Finance & Administration Industry, Accenture State & Local Government Client Service Group; and Dale Strange, Director of Services, Dell Public Accounts.
  • This SIG has voiced and supported, on an ongoing basis, the needs of the Small, Medium and Local Government agencies to the other committees of the NYS Forum as well as to NYS CIO/OFT.
  • This SIG solicited input from the entire constituency of Small, Medium and Local Government agencies via a survey. This survey identified topics of interest to the agencies which will continue to guide our efforts in 2008-2009.
  • The SIG met on a monthly basis to plan events, track progress on those initiatives, and consider additional opportunities to support the unique agendas of our target agencies.

2008-2009 Projected Initiatives

Consultation

  • Continued expansion of the SIG by recruiting new members, targeting new private sector IT Corporate Roundtable members, and small, medium and local government agencies.
  • Continued collaboration with CIO/OFT in assisting small, medium and local agencies.
  • Increase The Forum's collaboration with organizations representing local governments such as the NYS Conference of Mayors and the NYS Association of Towns. (1)

Education

  • Ongoing input into the other committees of The Forum, to ensure that the needs of small, medium and local agencies are represented in their activities and events.
  • Joint event with BCP Committee of The NYS Forum, as small agencies in particular are challenged with having the resources to effectively address BCP.
  • Develop an educational event focused on IT strategic planning for small, medium and local agencies, which was one of the four highest priorities identified in our 2007 survey.
  • Develop an educational event focused on IT Security for small, medium and local agencies, which was one of the four highest priorities identified in our 2007 survey.

Tool

  • Create a networking/communications forum for small, medium and local agencies to share ideas and issues.
  • Create a practical guide for undertaking an IT strategic planning process. (15)

Policy

  • Partner with the NYSLGITDA to analyze opportunities for more partnerships with small, medium and local agencies (listserves, conferences, etc.).

Research

  • Conduct an update of the 2006 survey of small, medium and local government agency needs