Page 56 - FCW, June 2017

CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
TRANSFORMING INDIVIDUALS’ LIVES
Automation, single IDs and millennials can revolutionize the delivery of government services.
SPONSORED CONTENT
MARY LOU PREVOST
VICE PRESIDENT OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION,
CA TECHNOLOGIES
THERE IS a fundamental shift underway to deliver government services on mobile devices. Individuals in many states
can now access government benefits from their smartphones and see all the programs for which they’re eligible, personalized in a single dashboard. Some states are working
to deliver social services on mobile devices with access to truancy records, health visits and status of the benefits for which they are eligible.
The linchpin to all these efforts is a single citizen ID across all of the services the state de- livers. This approach can help ensure when foster children are moved from one county to another, for example, their medical records follow them so tests and procedures are not needlessly redone.
Having unique identifiers statewide can also reduce fraud. Many services are state-run, but county-administered. Without a single ID, people can apply for the same benefits in multiple coun- ties. In other words, single IDs combined with automation can increase efficiency, reduce costs and create a stronger safety net for the individu- als who need it most.
A single ID, when combined with advanced authentication and privileged-access manage- ment, protects citizen data from both internal and external threats. When agencies need to share citizen data electronically, having a robust API gateway provides privacy controls without the cost of creating a data warehouse. As an example of data sharing, a state’s child welfare application could access the DMV photos for identity proofing while using an API gateway to secure the interaction. This model scales to allow inter-agency information sharing while automati- cally redacting data which is private.
Instead of building massive, monolithic ap- plications, agencies can develop and deploy new services faster than ever using agile methodology. That also helps agencies “fail fast,” so they can shift to another path if necessary. However, it
also means changing procurement rules
that currently favor waterfall development and fixed bids.
Any application can have multiple stakeholders, so agencies will need to break down the internal walls between operations. And even though agencies are moving more services to the cloud, some components will remain on premises. The only way to manage all those components is by blurring the lines between activities.
Another key to successful citizen engagement is to put individuals in control by employing a diverse workforce. As states try new approaches to attract younger workers, jobs in digital government can offer transformative career opportunities that are attractive to millenial workers seeking greater purpose and meaning in their work.
The Future Workforce
Officials know millennials might not commit to a lifelong career in government, however, if agencies can capture some of that energy for a while, everyone benefits.
In many states, 50 percent of the IT workforce is eligible to retire. That represents a huge oppor- tunity for millennials to come in and move up quickly. As states are actively modernizing the way services are delivered, the government can entice the very millennial innovators it needs to transform its culture and the lives of the people it serves.
To get started, states can follow the example at the State of Louisiana by creating a digital identity foundation for individual services that multiple agencies can use. To read this story, visit carahsoft.com/innovation/CA-engagement.
Mary Lou Prevost is Vice President of State and Local Government and Education at CA Technologies.
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