IT Governance Arrangement

Federated/hybrid

Central IT Office

Chief Information Officer/Office for Technology

CIO/OFT provides centralized technology policies and services. OFT was established in 1997 by a New York state technology law. In 2002, Executive Order 117 was issued, which established the position of the State CIO. In 2008, the two agencies merged together under the direction of the State CIO, without an explicit legislative or executive mandate.

State CIO

State CIO
The State CIO is appointed directly by the Governor, but is not part of the Governor’s cabinet. The CIO reports to the Deputy Secretary for Technology, Operations, and Gaming. The primary roles and responsibilities of this position are (1) overseeing management of the CIO/OFT; (2) overseeing, directing, and coordinating the establishment of information technology policies, protocols, and standards; (3) overseeing and coordinating the development, acquisition, deployment and management of IT resources; and (4) coordinating and facilitating information sharing among state government, local government, other states, the federal government and institutions of higher learning to promote the use and deployment of IT that will improve the delivery of government services.

The State CIO also reviews and approves agencies’ Plans to Procure for consistency with statewide policies and to evaluate the potential for collaboration with other agencies. CIO/OFT reports quarterly to the Division of Budget on approved procurement requests and the associated expenditures anticipated by fiscal year. Additionally, CIO/OFT provides agencies with feedback related to their review, allowing the opportunity for each project to be modified to achieve an approval. The State CIO also reviews agencies’ annual technology plans.

The State CIO also serves as the chair of the CIO Council.

Roles of other agencies in state IT management

State Agencies

State agencies must notify CIO/OFT of any purchases of technology and technology-related products or services meeting the following guidelines:

• any technology goods or services equal to or greater than $50,000;
• any aggregate commodity contract or any enterprise/universal licensing contract purchase regardless of dollar amount; or
• any exception to an aggregate or enterprise contract regardless of dollar amount.

Agencies also participate in a statewide IT planning process through the development of their Annual Technology Plans that are submitted to CIO/OFT to facilitate dialogue among operating agencies, the Division of the Budget (DOB), and CIO/OFT.

Division of the Budget (DOB)
DOB reviews agencies’ Plans to Procure and approves IT expenditures for agencies that are more than $1 million. IT expenditures that do not reach this threshold do not need DOB approval; however, a certificate of allocation approved by DOB is required to verify available funding before an agency may proceed to the final stages of procurement.

Office of General Services (OGS)
OGS is responsible for IT procurement for all state agencies and reviews agencies’ Plans to Procure in conjunction with CIO/OFT and DOB.

Office of the State Comptroller (OSC)
OSC approves all requests for technology purchases. OSC will not approve any requests for technology purchases that are not accompanied by the required authorizations from DOB or by a project approval from CIO/OFT.

Coordination Mechanisms

CIO Council

The CIO Council was established in 2002 to provide a venue for information sharing and promotion of interagency collaboration. It is also a mechanism for facilitating communication between CIO/OFT and other state agencies and authorities. The membership consists of state agencies and authorities, as well as representatives from local governments.

Integrated Justice Advisory Board (IJAB)
The main objective of IJAB is to facilitate integration of criminal justice information from all member agencies and to ensure that information needed to support criminal justice is available through a single portal. IJAB is comprised of the CIOs from the Department of Correctional Services DOCS, the State Police, the Division of Parole, the Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), and the Office of Homeland Security. Since DCJS provides technology support services for the Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders and the Crime Victims Board, these agencies are also represented in IJAB. The Governor’s Assistant Secretary for Criminal Justice oversees IJAB.