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A Publication Featuring The Information Services
Technology of Maine State Government
| Volume VII, Issue 10 | October 2004 |
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"Feeling old? Well, so are most of your neighbors." Ron Crouch, Keynote Speaker
Held September 8, the second Maine Digital Government Summit was well attended, and presented important information for agencies providing Information Technology (IT) services to Maine’s (aging) population. Ron Crouch challenged the audience to "think through" the reams of data to understand trends, and the relative magnitude of issues in order to provide services effectively. With respect to making decisions regarding relative magnitude, he recommended we address "$100 issues" (e.g. 8,000 teens are killed in automobile crashes annually) over "$1" issues (14 teens were killed in the Columbine school) which may receive extensive press coverage.
Observing that IT "is not an expenditure, it is an investment that enables informed decisions by citizens and government officials alike", Crouch suggested the following IT uses to identify trends and allocate resources.
Public Health: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tracking of disease outbreaks (as an early warning), and analysis of vital statistics to better understand trends.
Education: Data inputs to track students – not just schools ("A big need").
Public Safety: Using GIS identify households which are at risk (e.g. residents 65+ years old, disabled etc.).
Crime: GIS tracking of crimes (murder, rape, robbery etc.) and identifying stolen cars before an officer approaches it.
Workforce: Conduct dynamic workforce trends analysis (using local employment data) and occupational analysis.
Connected Citizens: Provide what, where, when, and how of government services and solicit feedback.
Like our sister states, Maine’s population is "middle aging", which is concerning because baby boomers are less likely to tour as they age, and Maine’s economy is increasingly dependent upon tourism. Education and skills are needed, but "Bubba is in trouble, whether he is Bubba White, Joe Black or Jose Brown because men are not preparing for the jobs of the 21st century". (60% of college graduates are women.) To maintain its population, Maine needs to encourage in-migration; particularly since only 30% of Maine households have a child living in them today! Diversity of race and age are critical issues. Indeed throughout the US, all population growth in categories of persons less than 45 years old is the result of minority births or foreign immigration.
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Alan Cox, Vice President/Executive Director of Government Technology Executive Events announces Maine.Gov has won the "Best of the Web" for 2004, and introduces the panel. From the left: Chief Information Officer Dick Thompson, Carrie Gott, InforMe, Jim Lopatosky, Bureau of Information Services and Carmel Rubin, Department of Environmental Protection |
GENERAL SESSION: Leveraging Efforts, Services, Investment and Infrastructure During his initial remarks, Chief Information Officer Dick Thompson coined a new IT acronym – "STUFF" (Strategic Technology Used For Future). Observing that change is difficult, Dick anticipates additional collaboration between agencies in the coming years, and consolidations similar to those seen in the telecommunications and banking industries. Government must deliver the services demanded by citizens; otherwise they will be obtained elsewhere.
Carrie Gott highlighted Maine.gov’s success in service delivery and usage. Ranked the best government website in this year’s Best of the Web competition, Maine can be very proud of its accomplishments to date. Highlights include an increase in visits to Maine.gov of more than 700% over the last five years, and on-line service adoption rates reaching as high as 98% in some cases. Worthy of note, this year’s on-line business services offered at the Secretary of State’s Office (www.sosonline.org) have averaged more than 80% in adoption; more than 60% of campground reservations were made on-line; and agencies such as the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are now offering on-line service for a majority of services. Furthermore, Maine.gov is first in the nation to offer such a comprehensive eDemocracy portal, offers the most on-line services per capita as compared to any other state, with some of the very highest adoption rates, and has the most cross jurisdictional services (e.g. Rapid Renewal, dog licensing, aircraft registration and more).
Jim Lopatosky described the Bureau of Information Services’ Oracle environment, which now hosts 50+ agency applications. Costs are reduced by collaboration. Oracle environment agencies employ state-of-the-art technology, including storage array networks (SANS), fail over technologies, and disaster recovery.
Carmel Rubin, One Stop Project Manager described the five-year agreement with South Carolina to share an environmental information system, (with an expected development cost savings between $100,000 and $300,000 per year) and XML based data exchange with the US Department of Environmental Protection.
All Summit presentations that can be obtained will be made available on the www.govtech.net/events website. Scroll down to the Maine Summit event, and select "More Info".
