The State of Kansas
Office of the Chief Information Architect

State of Kansas Strategic Information Management Plan

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

Like businesses around the world, government has undergone major changes in the last twenty years. Citizens have become increasingly concerned about taxes and government spending. Government programs are being increasingly questioned. Functions that have been the province of the Federal Government are increasingly being handed over to State and Local governments, and functions that were solely governmental activities are increasingly being outsourced to private businesses.

Basic goals for government at all levels include: reducing costs, improving the delivery of existing and new services, increasing accountability, promoting economic development, and preserving/promoting the quality of life for all citizens. Information and communication technology can play a large role in accomplishing these goals. Organizations throughout the world have proven it is possible to do all of these things at the same time. For example, WalMart has effectively used information technology to revolutionize retailing simultaneously with creating thousands of jobs and creating a work environment friendly to customers and employees alike. Doing this in government can only be done by rethinking how government operates and employing technology strategically to provide government services.

The Foundation for Taking Action

This Plan is based on the following premises about desired directions for Kansas state government:

• Information technology (IT) is especially important to the State’s economic development and the quality of life for its citizens. Computers and networks--and the information they bring--are becoming a major factor in the life of individuals and businesses in Kansas. From school children using computers in the classroom to the farmer using a laptop computer to plan crops and the application of pesticides, computers are a part of daily life. Practically every business in the State depends on computers and access to information. Without computers and networks readily available, providing access to information world-wide, companies could not compete in the world economy.
  
• The State has a responsibility to use information technology wisely to improve services and provide citizens access to public information. The government has the same opportunity as business--to use computers and networks to streamline how work is done and services are provided. Citizens in the State will expect:
  

• The government should apply information technology with at least the same innovation and efficiency as does private industry.
  
• Information should be available with appropriate attention to individual privacy, information accuracy, and security.

• It should be easy to do business with the State--no mystery, no obstructions. Electronic commerce and technologies such as electronic mail, electronic fund transfers, databases, the Internet, and powerful software tools can make it easy to do business with the State. The Information Network of Kansas (INK), for example, already makes considerable state information available to the public. The same technology can deliver state services easily and effectively. Citizens in the State will expect:
  
  • Doing business with government should be just as customer-friendly as doing business with private enterprise.
    
  • Information about government should be as easily available as anything else on the Internet.
    
• Information technology within government is important only to the extent it improves the functioning of government. IT is an important agency resource, and like any other resource, needs to be managed effectively. The importance of IT, however, is found in its impact on how each agency does business: in managing agency information, in providing services to citizens, and using the State’s financial and human resources most effectively. Although this document focuses on information technology and information management, the foundation for its recommended action is driven by government agency business needs and citizen requirements for access to government information and services.

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The Information Technology Vision for the State

The Strategic Management Information Plan is based on a vision for the use of computers and networks in Kansas:

• Every Kansas citizen and business can access needed Kansas government information and services electronically.
  
• Every branch and level of Kansas government can exchange and access information electronically, both internally within government and externally throughout the state, nation, and world.
  
• Every tax dollar is maximized through Kansas government cooperation, coordination, and resource sharing, supported by cost-effective information technology.

Kansas government needs to prepare for doing business in the 21^st Century the way citizens and businesses expect. This plan proposes a management framework and initial actions for state government. The desired outcomes include:

• Providing a common view of the way IT should be utilized in the State
  
• Providing improved guidelines for agency development of information systems
  
• Reducing barriers to cooperation and information sharing
  
• Optimizing the use of the State’s IT resources

The goal of this Plan, in summary, is to coordinate information technology to promote citizen access, information sharing, and improved performance of government agencies, individually and collectively.

Obstacles

There are a variety of obstacles to coordinating activities of state agencies:

• Agencies’ individual agendas. Each agency is built around specific missions and functions, servicing a certain constituency and subject to unique pressures. Their state appropriations and external revenue streams depend first and foremost on meeting their mission requirements. Agencies are understandably reluctant to divert limited resources to any activity which does not appear to help them meet their primary objectives.
  
• No widespread tradition of cooperation. Past occasions of multi-agency coordination have been the exception rather than the rule. Perspectives tend to be inwardly focused. Agencies develop their own capabilities for implementing and managing their IT assets; those without the resources to do so, frequently do without. While this indicates a spirit of independence and self-reliance (exhibited by local government agencies, as well), it may mean that agencies miss opportunities for applying another’s experience or resources toward their own problems. Technical capabilities and expertise are repeated across many agencies, at no small expense. Citizens detect vestiges of this parochialism when they encounter the stereotypical bureaucratic experience: fragmented points of contact across agencies, little awareness of what goes on elsewhere, overlapping areas of responsibility with conflicting directions from different organizations, or being bounced from one phone to another as people incorrectly guess who is responsible for fixing the caller’s problem.
  
• IT resource limitations. Agency IT managers try to keep up with rapidly changing technology and support the increasing pace of agency operations while facing budget-driven pressures to do more with less. They feel hamstrung by inconsistent and outdated policies, limits on agency authority, barriers to hiring and retaining qualified technical staff, and uneven comprehension of IT’s role and potential among agency managers. Under these conditions, it is difficult for them to meet both agency needs and expectations of their participation in cross-agency activities.
  
• Inconsistent decisions from oversight bodies. Oversight bodies make decisions about state IT based on their own perspectives, assumptions and objectives. Their immediate concerns dominate consideration of overall benefits to the State as an enterprise. Examples of this perception: Agencies seek mission accomplishment within their own area of cognizance. The Division of the Budget seeks to balance all funding requests and priorities within defined resources. Divisions within the Department of Administration seek agency conformance to rules about procurement, accounting and personnel management. Service providers such as the Division of Information Systems and Communications (DISC) may seek a broader customer base to spread costs and lower the rates they charge. INK seeks revenue generators in its data supply business. The Legislative Joint Committee on Computers and Telecommunications (JCCT) seeks assurance that IT resources and development projects are being well-managed. Though individually appropriate, these actions are not guided by a common view or set of objectives. There is nothing to prevent decisions being at cross purposes. It is frequently left to the IT manager to reconcile conflicting directions and decide which will take priority.

While this plan proposes steps to overcome or mitigate these obstacles, it recognizes that cooperation and coordination are more likely to occur when involved agencies recognize their own benefit from the effort. Demanding compliance with an external mandate or expecting devotion of resources for altruistic motives is an unlikely recipe for success over the long term.

Basic Strategy Of The Plan

• Focus on citizen requirements for access to government information and services. Citizen and agency requirements determine the direction for the use of information technology.
  
• Eliminate barriers to state-wide access to government services and information. All service providers, public and private, must recognize a common framework to assure a base level of access in all areas of Kansas.
  
• Eliminate barriers to cooperation and shared resources. Policy and management barriers that prevent or inhibit agencies from cooperating and sharing their expertise and experiences must be identified and removed.
  
• Provide IT leadership and vision in the State. State government needs to communicate a common state-wide IT vision, and the coordinated progress toward that vision, to all affected parties in the State.
  
• Support agencies in their development and use of information and information technology. The strategy is to create several mechanisms for mutual support among agencies.
  
• Coordinate the activities of independent, self-reliant agencies. Policies, guidelines, and standards will lead agencies, provided the agencies help formulate them.
  
• Mobilize action through self-interest. Self-assessment and descriptive tools such as scenarios and templates will encourage agencies to consider what is in their best interest, while raising their awareness of how their individual actions promote accomplishment of the broader vision. All agencies benefit from the IT success of any one agency.
  

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A Planning Framework

The Strategic Information Management Plan translates the vision and strategies into specific goals, objectives, program needs, and policy needs for the State. These all recommend action by State agencies, the Kansas Information Resources Council (KIRC) and the Chief Information Architect (CIA). To organize these components, the Plan uses a framework based on six themes. For each, the section and page number is listed where goals, objectives, issues, needed programs, and needed policies can be found.

• Access to Public Information. Every citizen has efficient, effective, and convenient access to government services and information, as appropriate under laws governing privacy and freedom of information. Agencies freely exchange data whenever needed, subject to these same laws. (Section 3.3, page 14)
  
• Effective Use of Government Resources. Government service to its citizens takes maximum advantage of shared government resources, appears to operate as a single enterprise with multiple points of contact, and eliminates unnecessary duplication of information or processes. (Section 3.4, page 17)
  
• Economic and Community Development. Information technology capabilities in the State of Kansas add to its attractiveness for business and economic development, and to the quality of life for its citizens. (Section 3.5, page 22)
  
• Government Interconnection. Each public agency and employee can be electronically connected to any other agency and its employees for information access and exchange. (Section 3.6, page 24)
  
• Government IT Management. Every public agency practices effective and efficient management of its information and information technology resources. (Section 3.7, page 27)
  
• Information Technology Awareness and Education. Government employees and the public fully understand the opportunities, vision, and plans for information and information technology in the State, and how to take advantage of them. (Section 3.8, page 32)

Planning Guidance for Agencies

Individual agencies will continue to design and implement the majority of information technology applications in the state. They do so primarily in the performance of their agency missions and responsibilities. To achieve broader state-wide (inter-agency) goals, the State needs additional policies, processes, and methodologies. This Plan proposes a set of guidelines and templates for agencies, in four areas. Major recommendations include:

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Planning Objectives for CIA and KIRC

Implementing SIM-Plan requires numerous projects and actions. A plan for the for KIRC and CIA is described in Section 4.5, CIA and KIRC Action Plan (page 47), and described in more detail in Appendix B: CIA and KIRC Action Plan. The key objectives for KIRC and CIA are implemented in twenty-one activities, in seven sections:

Within the Government

• Provide focus and leadership for information and information technology in government.
  
• Coordinate information and information technology activities throughout the government.
  
• Support government agency initiatives in developing information and information technology.
  
• Reconcile state and public agency policies and statutes with regard to the use of information and information technology.

With the Public and with Business

• Confirm needs and expectations from citizens and public agencies.
  
• Identify preferred strategies for information and service delivery to citizens and agencies.
  
• Develop state-wide information and service access capabilities (e.g., access to infrastructure).
  

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Goals, Objectives, and Projects

This Plan describes 24 goals, 63 objectives, numerous recommended programs, processes, and policies, and new roles and responsibilities for KIRC and CIA. Section 3 (page 8) describes the goals and objectives organized around the six main themes. Appendix B: CIA and KIRC Action Plan describes the action steps for implementing the plan. TheAn Iimplementation RoadMap (see Appendix C) describes the expected projects and gives a starting point for their priorities.

Next Steps

Proposals in this Plan are ambitious, and their implementation problematic given current available resources. Section 4.6, Next Steps for Implementation (page 50) states the recommendations for next steps, and Appendix C: A RoadMap for Implementation provides the details of an implementation approach.

• Clarify roles and responsibilities. This Plan does not completely address needed changes in roles, responsibilities and organizational relationships among major actors in state government IT, particularly KIRC and CIA. A recommended approach is described in Section 5.3.3.1, Roles and Responsibilities (page 68).
  
• Determine responsibilities for implementing this Plan. KIRC and CIA will play important roles in implementation. Specific implementation responsibilities need to be defined along with the clarification of roles and responsibilities.

• Define objectives and action items as projects. Section 5.3.3.2, SIM-Plan Project Definition and Prioritization Project (page 69) recommends an approach for developing the projects. The CIA is assigned new roles and activities. With a staff of four people, priorities will have to be set for the projects that they can accomplish. An initial prioritization for CIA activities is included in the Appendix C.
  
• Prioritize the projects. Resources are not available to accomplish all sixty-three objectives at the same time. Section 5.3.4, Strawman RoadMap Priorities (page 70) describes a process for prioritization.
  
• Keep this Plan currentThis Plan is a starting point. The RoadMap describes the process by which changes will be accommodated during the life of the Plan. See Section 5.3.1 (page 67).

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A Guide to the
Strategic Information Management Plan

This page provides a quick index to the major topical areas within the SIM Plan.

• Goals and Objectives: Description of the desired future state, with designation of parties responsible for accomplishment.

1.1 The Goal for This Plan 1

3.1.2 Vision Statement 9

3.3 Access to Public Information 14

3.4 Effective Use of Government Resources 17

3.5 Economic and Community Development 22

3.6 Government Interconnection 24

3.7 Government IT Management 27

3.8 Information Technology Awareness and Education 32

• Implementation: The projects to implement objectives and steps in the action plan.

3.2 Vision to Implementation 13

4.1 Current Projects 35

4.5 CIA and KIRC Action Plan 47

5.2 Appendix B: CIA and KIRC Action Plan 53

5.3 Appendix C: A RoadMap for Implementation 65

5.3.3.2 SIM-Plan Project Definition and Prioritization Project 68

• Roles and Responsibilities: The roles that KIRC, CIA, DISC, INK, and agencies play in achieving the vision and managing the State’s IT resources.

4.4 Roles and Responsibilities 39

4.4.2 KIRC Role as Defined by KIRC 42

4.4.3 The CIA Role in Strategic Information Management 43

4.4.4 Changes in Roles and Responsibilities 44

5.3.3.1 Roles and Responsibilities 68

5.4.2 Relationship of Current Legislation and SIM-Plan 81

• Next Steps to be Taken: The immediate actions to be taken by KIRC and CIA.

3.2 Vision to Implemenation 13

4.6 Next Steps for Implemenation 50

5.3.3 Next Steps 68

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