IT Governance Arrangement

Federated/Hybrid

Central IT Office

The state of California has two central IT offices, each of which focuses separately on one of the two main functions of central IT offices: IT service and IT policy and strategic planning.

Office of the State CIO

Following the sunset of the original legislation, the Office of the State CIO was recreated by Senate Bill 834 in 2006. In August 2007 the Legislature appropriated funds to establish the Office of the State CIO as the first cabinet-level agency with statutory authority over strategic vision and planning, enterprise architecture, IT policy, and project approval and oversight. As of July 2007, it also fulfills two roles that previously resided with the Department of Finance:

• Investment Review Program, which ensures that IT projects submitted by departments represent a sound business investment and an appropriate solution, as well as follow state IT policies and directions, when determining recommendations for funding of these efforts.
• Project Oversight Program, which has developed state minimum requirements for project management and project oversight activities, and oversees the implementation of these requirements at the department and Agency levels to ensure successful IT projects.

Department of Technology Services (DTS)

DTS provides enterprise-wide IT services to the executive branch of the government. It operates the State Data Center, manages 24-hour, seven days/week operations for departmental IT systems and solutions, and is accountable for running cost-effective, secure technical environments and infrastructure providing services to most state departments and some county services. It is independent of the State CIO and is governed by the Technology Services Board.

State CIO

State CIO

The State CIO is a member of the Governor’s cabinet and directly appointed by the Governor. The overall role of the State CIO is to provide leadership on statewide IT initiatives and needs, provide strategic vision for the state's technology, and coordinate with the control agencies and departments. The following is a more detailed list of State CIO roles and responsibilities:

• Advise the Governor on the strategic management and direction of the state's information technology resources.
• Minimize overlap, redundancy, and cost in state operations by promoting the efficient and effective use of information technology.
• Coordinate activities of Agency Information Officers, agency CIOs, and the Director of the Department of Technology Services for purposes of integrating statewide technology initiatives, ensuring compliance with information technology policies and standards, and promoting alignment of information technology resources and effective management of information technology portfolios.
• Work to improve organizational maturity and capacity in the effective management of information technology.
• Establish performance management and improvement processes to ensure state information technology systems and services are efficient and effective.

Roles of other agencies in state IT management

Decision-making processes in the executive branch for enterprise information technology issues are in the hands of several agencies exercising discretion pursuant to existing delegations of authority.

Department of Finance (DOF)
DOF approves project funding and is responsible for project approval, developing and managing an IT security program, and assisting the State CIO in identifying and addressing key statewide strategic and operational needs for IT management. It includes the following entities:

• Security Program, which identifies, mitigates, and manages statewide security and operational recovery risk. The program accomplishes this through policy, education, awareness, and communications with the departmental Information Security Officers (ISOs).
• Overview of High Profile/High Cost Projects - Major projects often require the attention of the Administration, the State CIO, Finance, and the agencies.

Department of General Services (DGS)
DGS is responsible for IT acquisition processes and procedures, including legal counsel. In addition, through its acquisition quality assurance program, DGS is responsible for oversight of all IT procurements conducted by other state agencies.

Cabinet-level Agencies
The agencies provide leadership, coordination, and oversight of IT, activities, and procurements within its jurisdiction. Agencies have assumed a larger role for oversight of projects and advising DOFand the State CIO on IT leadership issues through its agency information officer (AIO).

Departments
The departments are responsible for effectively managing their IT development and operations, including providing ethical guidelines for IT procurements; creating direct lines of reporting between directors and the department's CIO and information security officer; providing independent oversight of projects; and implementing basic security measures.

Coordination Mechanisms

IT Council Executive Committee

The Executive Committee was established in September 2008 to provide oversight and leadership to the Information Technology Council. It consists of eight AIOs, eight CIOs, the State CIO, and three representatives from the OCIO. It has the following roles and responsibilities:

• Provide oversight and leadership for the California IT Council
• Provide general advice and guidance to the State CIO
• Provide a framework for statewide IT governance
• Provide feedback to proposed IT policy
• Respond to requests from the State CIO

Information Technology Council (IT Council)
The IT Council advises the State CIO on all matters related to information technology in the executive branch, including the development of statewide IT strategic plans and the adoption of enterprise-wide IT standards and policies. The IT Council's membership is broadly representative of major stakeholders in the executive branch's IT program, including members from several constitutional offices, the state's support agencies (Departments of Finance, General Services, Personnel Administration and Technology Services), AIOs, departmental CIOs, the judiciary, and local and federal governments. It was chartered by the State CIO in 2004.

Technology Services Board (TSB)
TSB governs the Department of Technology Services established on July 9, 2005 by the Governor’s Reorganization Plan Number 2 and sets policy on enterprise services provided by the Department of Technology Services (DTS). DTS is the sole enterprise-wide source for technology and telecommunications services. The goal of consolidation and realignment is to substantially improve the performance of the executive branch in managing its information technology infrastructure.

Enterprise Leadership Council (ELC)
The ELC provides statewide support and guidance for all state enterprise-wide system projects. The ELC’s mission includes providing a forum for project stakeholders to review, resolve, and provide direction on issues that have a statewide impact and cannot be resolved at a project level. The ELC’s membership includes members of the Governor’s Cabinet, the Controller, the Treasurer, and the executive director of the Board of Equalization.

Planning document

California State Information Technology Strategic Plan is updated annually and guides the acquisition, management, and use of technology within the executive branch for a five year period. As of March 10, 2009, a new reorganization plan had been put in front of the legislature that would further consolidate IT in the state of California. The plan went into effect on May 10, 2009, with full enactment expected by mid 2010. Under the reorganization plan, both the service and the policy and planning functions are subsumed under the OCIO.