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Tying a Sensible Knot: A Practical Guide to State-Local Information Systems

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

Chapter 1. Understanding the State-Local Environment

Chapter 2. Principles for Working in the State-Local Environment

Chapter 3. Best Practices

Appendices
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Chapter 3. Best Practices

Recruit the right project team

The success of any intergovernmental information systems project generally depends on three factors working together: technology, management, and policy. If any of these areas are ignored in staffing a project team, the project is likely to have either short or long term problems or both. Without individuals capable of handling project management functions (timelines, workplans, budgets, recruiting) you run the risk of poor coordination, and wasted time and effort. If a project lacks adequately skilled technology personnel, it is likely that deadlines will be missed and applications may fail or contain crucial flaws that render the system inferior to the old way of doing business. Teams that do not include well-informed program and policy staff, especially those engaged in direct service functions, are likely to miss the boat on substantive service goals.

Moreover, the project team needs both state and local membership and the roles assigned to each person should take advantage of that individual’s organizational location and professional background and skills. A survey we conducted as part of our study showed clearly that all participants had greater confidence in success when local officials played active roles as lead or co-designers. Local officials have the experience to understand the daily operational needs of any new project. They understand the street-level realities. As such, the early, active, and ongoing involvement of local government partners adds considerable value and ensures more complete success. It is also important to establish at the outset any limitations, such as travel time and costs, on local agency ability to participate.


Social Services Imaging Project:Clarify the nature of participation
Establishing a project team with the right mix of program skills and technical understanding of the potential uses of imaging technology was a critical step in the Local Social Services District Imaging Project. To encourage local involvement, the State Department of Social Services (DSS) sent a letter to each County Social Services Commissioner inviting the Local Social Services Office to participate in the project. In order to assist the Commissioner in this decision, the letter included detailed information about the desired nature of local involvement. Selected counties were invited to participate in one of two groups: those counties which had been working with the State DSS on imaging related tasks were invited to participate in the pilot activities, while those who had begun to evaluate the role of imaging in their business processes or information access methods were invited to sit on an advisory board.
The invitation letter included the following project details:
  1. A statement of the main task for the project
  2. A statement of the qualifications of the individual to be designated
  3. A statement of the time and travel commitments
  4. A draft contract entitled "LDSS/SDSS Imaging Project Collaboration Contract." This document spelled out the project background, purpose, milestones, and expectations for all participants on the team.

This approach resulted in the formation of a project team which was fully aware of the roles and commitment they had taken on, as well as a team with the necessary programmatic and technology skills to carry out the work. It also generated the necessary top management understanding and support for the project.

As a group the project team will need to set objectives, garner the support of many organizations, plan, design, test, implement, promote, and evaluate the system. Team members should be selected both for the skills they can contribute toward project completion and for the commitment they bring on behalf of their organizations.It is most likely that different team members will need to be involved at different levels of intensity. One approach is to assemble both a core working group and an advisory group. These can then be supplemented when necessary by outside consult- ants or contractors.

Using stakeholder analyses and similar tools at the inception of a project can greatly enhance your ability to identify and consider all the parties that may need to be represented on the project team and ensure they have a direct or representative voice in its development.


Electronic Death Certificate: Prepare the way with a business case
The Electronic Death Certificate Project faced a formidable initial challenge - convincing and securing the participation of all the parties involved in the finalization of a death record. This group of critical players includes physicians, medical examiners, funeral home directors, and local government vital statistics registrars. Beyond this core group, many state and federal agencies, the courts, and insurance companies have a keen interest in the timely and legal verification of deaths. Technology-based improvements in the current paper-bound process needed the support and participation of all parties involved.
Despite the variety of stakeholders and the complexity of their interactions, the project initiators at the State Health Department and the New York City Registrar of Vital Statistics were successful in getting all parities to sit down at the table and begin mapping out their requirements. They accomplished this by first making a compelling business case that the project would benefit each participant. The case was documented in white papers that were widely distributed prior to any formal meetings. For example, the business case for NYC Registrars showed how a networked system would reduce time, cost, and errors. Each borough in NYC used to have a satellite office for vital records where business related to the people living in the borough could be conducted. Due to budget cuts these offices were closed several years ago. Now when funeral directors need an official signature on a burial permit they must travel to the central Registrar in Manhattan to obtain it. Even under ideal conditions, this trip can take several hours. When you consider there are more than 70,000 deaths a year in New York City and that most people live outside Manhattan, this makes for a considerable workload for all the funeral directors in the area. The white paper showed how network technology, including digital signatures, could allow them to obtain the needed authorizations without leaving their businesses.
These papers, with their focus on benefits to stakeholders, generated a great deal of interest in the project and willingness to attend the initial planning meeting. At that session, participants were already well-informed and able to focus on key issues such as protecting confidentiality and adopting electronic signatures that would enable them to achieve these benefits.

"A successful project team needs policy, management, and technology experts with both state and local perspectives."