Accenture and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) have released a new report, focusing on the changes state chief information officers (CIO) need to make as technology continues to develop, the company announced on Thursday.
“The pace of technological change keeps accelerating, bringing new challenges and opening opportunities, and state CIOs have an important, central role to play in fostering innovation to help government deliver better services and value to citizens…state government operating models should evolve to better enable, emphasize and capture the benefits of innovation, and this research points the way forward,” said Doug Robinson, NASCIO’s executive director.
The report has emphasized new approaches and success factors that could potentially advance innovative practices within the state government, including examples of leading practices of state CIO innovation governance structures, ecosystems, budgeting for innovation, recommendations to help state CIOs develop operating models and initiatives that can drive innovation in state government.
The companies conducted a survey of 12 state CIOs and the data has concluded that 83 percent of CIOs see innovation is an important part of their day-to-day leadership responsibilities and 14 percent announced extensive innovation initiatives within their organizations.
The survey also identified current practices and CIO views regarding obstacles to innovation. The report has stated that a lack of funding for innovation is a top barrier, 63 percent of CIOs reported, while executive support for innovation is at 26 percent.
Additionally, CIOs view supervised governance structures on innovation are becoming more common: 49 percent were reported to have one and 31 percent are still developing one.
The report has also stated that collaboration in innovation ecosystems are mainly internally focused: the top source of innovative ideas, cited by 63 percent, while less than half point to external collaborations and only 14 percent point to input from citizens.
“State CIOs have many opportunities to foster innovation in their agencies and the departments they support,” said Rick Webb Accenture’s managing director. “Effective innovation depends on consistent, strong leadership support, collaborative systems and a conducive organizational culture, and state CIOs are key across all these dimensions.”
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions — underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network — Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 505,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives.
