Goal 4: Build digital government more quickly and more effectively

The COVID-19 pandemic forced our government to adapt quickly and rethink how we serve 40 million Californians. At the same time, the 2020-2021 budget has less funding for government services, and requires government to work more efficiently.

In our research and engagement, we found departments hungry to use technology to dramatically improve operations, services and outcomes. And yet, technology is not doing as much as it should. Leaders and implementers face significant challenges effectively making these improvements quickly and effectively.

As well as needing project initiation, budgeting procurement and oversight to better support how commodity and shared services can quickly solve problems and meet people’s needs, the same policies and processes need to support the distinct needs of large, complex programs. We heard this across agencies, departments, legislative staff and the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

These large complex programs usually involve older technology infrastructure (“legacy” technology, often running on state mainframes). Achieving our vision requires successful, replicable approaches so these kinds of technology can quickly and efficiently meet people’s continually changing needs.

Lastly, we found a common need to be organized for continuous learning. Making success easy to copy, and making failures easy to learn from, is key to building digital government more quickly, and more effectively.