Innovation & Technology
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FY 2013 Budget Recommendation:
Issues in Brief
Deval L. Patrick, Governor
Timothy P. Murray, Lt. Governor
Spurring Innovation with Technology
Technology presents new and exciting opportunities to drive
innovative changes in government that could vastly improve services to
residents and businesses and save taxpayers money. While the Commonwealth has
already pursued a number of technology-enabled innovations, the Patrick-Murray Administration
is relentlessly fixed on driving innovation in government and identifying new
opportunities to change the way government does business. Toward this end, the
Administration plans to formally seek more input from technology experts and
entrepreneurs and to make targeted investments in technology to support
innovation.
Focusing on technology will also help streamline the
delivery of services through a single face of government and ultimately allow
the state to interact with people online however they choose (i.e. Facebook,
blogs, Twitter, etc.). Enhanced innovation will allow the Commonwealth to
address common consumer inquiries and complaints, by adding more transactions
online and allowing for better data sharing so that people don’t have to contact
multiple agencies to get an issue addressed.
Engaging with Experts
The Commonwealth will collaborate with innovation experts
from the private sector and members of our vast higher education community in
the following ways:
- #MassInnovation – Establish a statewide “State
Government Innovation” competition to solicit proposals for using
technology to support innovative ideas for state government to better
serve its residents and save money. Entrepreneurial proposals for
reshaping government would be solicited through various platforms,
including social media (e.g., Twitter), with data made available online in
the spirit of open source initiatives. Proposals would be evaluated for
feasibility, cost savings and service improvement. The Administration
would identify the three most promising ideas and challenge teams of
students to redesign the most efficient and effective way of providing
service to the Commonwealth. Finalists would be selected by a panel of
private and public sector entrepreneurs and implemented across state
government.
- Government Innovation Officer (GIO) – Appoint an
innovation expert to advise the Governor on identifying, funding and managing
execution of high impact business change projects. The GIO would be
accountable for improving internal government efficiencies and for the
improved experience of outside stakeholders and would work closely with
the Commonwealth Chief Information Officer to project and monitor the cost
and savings impacts of these change initiatives.
- Governor’s Council for Innovation – Establish a public
council comprised of the Commonwealth’s top innovators to advise the
Governor and GIO on the best opportunities for using technology to
streamline delivery of state government services to people and businesses and
to improve government efficiency.
Making Government Work Better
The majority of citizen complaints or inconveniences can be
addressed, but will require investments in technology. The Administration
continues to find ways to serve the public better and more efficiently. Some
recent examples include:
- Shorter Wait Times for Unemployment Benefits – The
Administration has implemented a new call system to reduce the time people
are waiting on the phone to reach a live state employee. This new system
(called Virtual Hold), launched in last month, allows callers to receive a
call back when an agent is available as opposed to waiting on hold;
- Online Licensing for Businesses and Professionals –
The Department of Public Safety is introducing eLicensing as a modern
convenience for companies and individuals to apply and pay for their
licensing and renewals on-line;
- Improving Access for Taxpayer Assistance – The Department
of Revenue (DOR) will be expanding its phone service from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on all business days starting in January and through May 1st to
better assist citizens through tax season;
- Making Criminal Background Checks Faster and Easier for
Employers – The Department of Criminal Justice and Information
Services will make information for criminal background checks faster and
easier to obtain online;
- Data Sharing to improve Indigency Verification –
The new Department of Re-Entry and Community Supervision will house an
indigency verification unit that will utilize existing data from the
Department of Transitional Assistance, Department of Unemployment
Assistance, DOR and others to create a robust database for verifying
eligibility for public counsel;
- Advanced Analytic Modeling at DOR – Using
historical data, data mining and statistical probability modeling to gain
insight into taxpayer behavior patterns, DOR will make business decisions
based on observed results. This will allow DOR to make better decisions
regarding how discretionary tax compliance management resources should be
used to address gaps in taxpayer education, tax debt collection, discovery
and fraud and how to improve audit selection to maximize returns;
- Statewide Vitals System – Creation of a common
Vital and Screening Web Enabled System for use by all towns and cities for
birth registration, certificate issuance, newborn hearing screening and
birth defects recording via one online system. A single online system for
tracking this information would reduce costs to local government and
residents and allow better data mining and enhanced collaboration across
cities and towns;
- Collaboration with Municipalities – There are many
opportunities to innovate using technology to improve interaction between
state and local governments. This could include improving flow of
business data between state government and municipalities, identifying IT
services the state could provide municipalities, providing enhanced
procurement contracts (e.g. statewide aggregate purchasing) and providing
better tools and forums for municipalities to collaborate with each other
and with state government;
- Improved User Accessibility – The MBTA has made bus
and subway data available to developers who have developed free Real Time
apps for the MBTA. Riders can now locate their buses and subways in real
time. The MBTA has also launched
"Talk to The T" which allows customers to send a photo or
comments directly to the MBTA Customer Support to get help, express concerns
or compliment the MBTA;
- MBTA-Google partnership – The
MBTA has partnered closely with Google to make MBTA real-time and schedule
information on Google Maps. In 2011, the MBTA was one of 6 transit
agencies worldwide to partner with Google in launching Google Maps Live
Transit. Google Maps Live Transit makes MBTA real-time bus location and
countdown information available through Google Maps; and
- On-Line Services at the
Registry – The RMV has made its most common transactions
accessible online. Now, most customers can do a license or registration
renewal online, reducing wait times in branches and on the phone.
Prepared by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance ·
www.mass.gov/budget/governor
For more information email: contactanf@massmail.state.ma.us (617) 727-2040