Florida's Department of Elder Affairs: A Case Study
[ Table of Contents ] [ Case ] [ Bibliography ] [ Telecommunications Management ] [ Karen ] [ Gwyneth ]
[ Table of Contents ] [ Case ] [ Bibliography ] [ Telecommunications Management ] [ Karen ] [ Gwyneth ]
Interagency and interorganizational communications are managed in a centralized manner through the Information Resource Commission and the Department of Mangement Services' Division of Communications, allowing for the sharing of the statewide MAN and WAN, and the statewide telephone system, SUNCOM. In addition to these physical resources, agencies are given a set of policies to address the issues of standards and security. Because of the tremendous, aggregate demand for telecommunications at the state level, this consolidation allows the state to take advantage of economies of scale to reduce overall costs for resources to the taxpayers. The centralization of inter-network onramps facilitates the sharing and integration of information from other agencies around the state and the country. Standards in information collection, storage and reporting allow DEA to more effectively respond to federal and state mandates, while meeting its primary mission of serving the elder community.
Involvement of the department itself is crucial when deciding how to manage information technology to perform administrative functions internally.
Florida has been a leader in the adoption of IRM among state governments; recently it is being adopted by other states as well. As of April, 1994, the Information Resource Management Commission of North Carolina adopted its initial edition of the Principles for Statewide Information Resource Management, which are broad based statements of direction, goals and concepts for guiding the devloment of information technology in state government.
Major sections of this document include:
Although the report outlines many of the relevant issues of information resource management identified by the state of Florida, no plans for sharing statewide resources are mentioned. North Carolina anticipates that its plan will evolve as it is supplemented by more specific implementation strategies as information technology is applied to specific public service delivery.
In Florida, the Department of Elder Affairs' strategic plan seeks to balance technology and human resource concerns within a political context. The voters demanded the creation of the Department of Elder Affairs be created to provide a single face to the elder community of Florida as they navigate through the network of federal, state and local service providers offering programs for the elderly. Running parallel to this increased demand for efficient services is the recognition that the public sector needs to effectively and efficiently manage its information resources. The continuing blurring of the division between computing and communications requires that strategic views be not only centralized, but also enterprise-wide. The state of Florida trys balance these concerns.