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October 2020 Newsletter

Indiana recognized for Outstanding Digital Government Service

Survey

The Center for Digital Government recognized Indiana's efforts as having one of the best technology practices in digital government, awarding the state an 'A-' in its biennial Digital States Survey.

What is it? The Digital States Survey evaluates states based on a set of criteria that includes actions supporting state priorities and policies to improve operations or services, hard- and soft-dollar savings/benefits, progress since the last survey, innovative and citizen-centric services, and effective collaboration.

This grade reflects a state that demonstrated very strong innovation and high performing solutions with verifiable impacts across all categories.

Indiana is also recognized as one of the top 4 states for its exemplary work in Data Governance/transparency by using processes to ensure data quality, privacy protection and the delivery of trusted data to all users who are authorized to access it.

In the last year, IN.gov, which provides more than 500 online services for citizens and businesses, has received more than 730 million visits and over 1 billion page views.

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GIO, FSSA recognized for GIS services

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The Indiana Geographic Information Office (GIO) and the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) were recently recognized for their achievement and leadership shown throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

They won the Special Achievement in GIS award for the implementation of the Indiana Food Assistance Map at the Indiana Geographic Information Council virtual conference last month.

This award recognizes special geospatial projects developed through teamwork that demonstrate commitment to working with others in the Indiana GIS community toward a common goal, while performing important, often pioneering work, to create an outstanding information resource.

The coronavirus has impacted families across the Unites States, and according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Indiana’s unemployment rate for May climbed to 16.9 percent - the highest recorded number in Indiana. Lost or reduced wages resulted in significant food insecurity, and several resources on which residents normally would depend became unavailable. Food banks were being stretched to their limit, and school closures changed the access to free and reduced-cost breakfasts and lunches for children. In response, Indiana needed to assemble a team of experts to create an online application that could connect residents to nearby food pantries, meal sites, and schools.

A map-based app was built with geographic information system (GIS) technology and provided functionality to not only pinpoint the closest food sites, but also deliver critical information about each of them.

All the new variable datasets needed to be carefully considered and strategically factored into the configuration of the new interactive map that could be used with ease by parents as well as their high school–age children, if needed.

Prior to the pandemic, no one had ever mapped these resources statewide. The process for a major project incorporating multiple state-level agencies such as this would normally require months, from conception to deployment. This was completed in less than a week.

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WorkSmart 365 Resilience Celebration overview

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Due to the unprecedented events of 2020, our agencies, coworkers, and communities have adjusted their routines and shifted their lives in order to continue to serve the citizens of the State of Indiana.

The WorkSmart 365 community, led by Stephanie and Vanessa Williams, moved their annual conference to a virtual 3-week celebration highlighting the journey we all shared this year.

Over 500 people from over 52 agencies attended the virtual event, plus more who watched the on-demand sessions after the fact. 

WorkSmart 365 has always been dedicated to empowering the State's workforce to be more productive and agile through using the tools that we already have access to in Microsoft 365. For this virtual celebration, the community recognized and celebrated the dedication, diversity, and resilience of Indiana’s workforce.

Who presented? Many talented and diverse presenters spoke in a highly-attended diversity and inclusion panel, including the Microsoft team, IOT CIO Tracy Barnes, Talent Acquisition Director Brent Morrell, Executive Director Bill Turner of Skillful Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College Vice President of Information Technology Linda Calvin, Diversity & Inclusion Program Managers Shayla Webb and more!

On-demand sessions included content from State of Indiana employees and our Microsoft partners, including a special keynote presentation from Tiana S. Clark, Microsoft Marketing Director for the M365 Enterprise Commercial business and Creator and Executive Producer of Soci Circle. Tiana has been a guest speaker and panelist for many organizations committed to empowering women and youth and fostering diversity and inclusion.

Catch up on all other sessions here:

Helping our children with Teams Youth App

SharePoint 2010 Workflows to Power Automate Flows

The Remote Experience

...and More!

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Access Indiana surpasses 125,000 users

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Access Indiana (https://access.IN.gov), the state’s single sign-on portal for Hoosiers to use digital government services, recently exceeded 125,000 users.

Gov. Eric Holcomb had instructed the Office of Technology to implement a service that connected online applications across state government with a single username and password to make accessing government services easier.

What is it? Beginning with one application in March 2019, Access Indiana now connects users with more than 25 state government services that may have previously required separate logins.

Some services include:

  • DNR Fish & Wildlife – hunting and fishing licenses
  • DWD Indiana Career Ready – resources for job seekers
  • IDHS Public Safety Portal – apply for permits and licenses
  • IURC Online Services Portal – file or check status of complaints

Look for more major services to be added in the near future, with the ultimate goal of needing only one user identity to interact online with the state.

Indiana Chief Information Officer Tracy Barnes said. “This is a great example of Indiana delivering great government service,” Indiana Chief Information Officer Tracy Barnes said. “I look forward to expanding the number of services available through Access Indiana.”

In the past three years the state has received more than 40 awards for digital government accomplishments, including Access Indiana being recognized by StateScoop for the 2020 State IT Innovation of the Year.

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The Indiana Virtual Summit available on demand

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Did you miss the virtual summit?

Don’t worry! For a limited time, recorded sessions are available to view at your leisure.

The virtual event page includes all of the sessions you missed from the two days, a Solutions Hub that includes information about each sponsor of the event, and other resources.

You can watch recorded sessions by clicking the Watch On Demand button next to each session of interest.

This page can be accessed via Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and mobile browsers. Internet Explorer is not supported.

For all questions or assistance , contact Olivia Gratton, Government Technology: 916-932-1369 or ogratton@govtech.com.

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MPH, DCS recognized by NASCIO

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The Management Performance Hub of the State of Indiana has been awarded a State IT Recognition award by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO).

This year, 90 submissions were received from NASCIO member states and territories, and MPH won the Emerging & Innovative Technologies category for their Enhanced Research Environment.

What is it? Deployed in March 2020, the ERE was created to address the need of a secure, scalable environment where researched and analysts could meet to collaboratively share and analyze data. ERE was proved crucial to the state’s COVID-19 response, unlocking secure collaboration, and facilitated complex modeling and machine learning. The ERE is responsible for enabling the daily, operational dashboard that Gov. Holcomb uses to inform the state’s response, as well as coronavirus.in.gov.

The Indiana Department of Child Services was a finalist in the Information Communications Technology Innovations category for their CCWIS VR Employee Engagement Platform.

What is it? Piloted in November 2019, this virtual reality technology is used for recruitment and training, providing both potential and current employees with the chance to practice their skills in life-like situations. Through immersive storytelling, the VR scenarios mimic situations caseworkers encounter in the field when working with families and allow staff members to think their actions through in a safe, controlled environment. This has been beneficial in providing interview candidates with an idea of what the job entails to help them decide if the job is a right fit for them, and if not, allows them to opt out of the remaining interview process, thus helping to solve the problems of employee retention and turnover within DCS today.

Find more information: The award nominations showcase the use of information technology to address critical business problems, more easily connect citizens to their government, improve business processes and create new opportunities that improve the lives of citizens. All award submissions have been added to NASCIO’s Awards Library.

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