Economic Development and Consolidation Lead Governors' Tech Initiatives

RESTON, Va., May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Governors are prioritizing economic growth to help their states bounce back from the recession, and consolidating their general services to maximize funds and address multiple needs. A new report from INPUT, State of the States 2010: Initiatives and IT Implications, analyzes initiatives based on governors' state of the state addresses, and assesses the underlying IT implications. Contractors and service providers will find this data of critical importance as they align their business development strategies to fulfill governors' priorities. The report also includes a searchable spreadsheet that lists specific state-by-state initiatives, categorized into policy areas.

The report forecasts that most states will bolster their budgets by implementing economic development-related activities and incentives. In terms of IT opportunities for government contractors, this means providing solutions related to income-generation. "States need financial systems that can administer an ever-changing array of tax incentives for businesses, and monitor job-related programs," said Chris Dixon, manager, State and Local Government at INPUT. "These include software and hardware solutions that support targeted funding programs intended to create jobs, match workers with jobs, and track the return on investment based on the number of jobs created."  

Also, most governors are planning to streamline their general government services. Contractors can look forward to IT-related opportunities that support comprehensive systems integration and modernization -- including enterprise resource planning -- to support reorganization, consolidation, elimination, and outsourcing of inefficient and redundant administrative functions. Primary and secondary education is also a main focus for states: school systems will most likely utilize business intelligence systems that support performance management programs meant to reward individual and school- and district-wide improvements made by highly-achieving students, teachers, and administrators.

State of the States 2010: Initiatives and IT Implications also ranks these initiatives and identifies potential areas of opportunity in several policy areas:

1. Economic Development/Regulation
2. General Government Services
3. Primary and Secondary Education
4. Public Finance
5. Justice/Public Safety
6. Health Care
7. Social Services
8. Higher Education
9. Natural Resources/Environment
10. Transportation
11. Community Development
12. Homeland Security

This report also provides detailed insight into:

• Critical technology initiatives across major policy areas
• Aligning business development  strategies with gubernatorial priorities
• Matching states' policy priorities with business solutions.
• Integrating the impact of political turnover into business development timelines

INPUT draws upon its extensive primary research and government expertise to incorporate the fact that 2010 brings about an unusually high rate of turnover in governors' offices, with 23 governors not running for re-election. To address this anomaly, analysts differentiate the initiatives announced by governors leaving office, those running for re-election, and those in states that are not holding elections this year. These distinctions help contractors understand differing policy priorities, and allow a glimpse into the future, in terms of what initiatives are most likely to be on the front burner of the new governors by fiscal year 2011.

Report Authors: Chris Dixon, manager, State and Local Government, and Deniece Peterson, manager, Industry Analysis at INPUT, are available for media inquires.  

Report Availability State of the States 2010: Initiatives and IT Implications is available on INPUT's website at the following link: states2010.input.com.

INPUT will host a webinar led by State and Local Government Manager Chris Dixon on the State of the States 2010: Initiatives and IT Implications on Tuesday, June 15, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. For more information, please visit: StateofStates2010.INPUT.com

About INPUT

INPUT is the authority on government business. Established in 1974, INPUT helps companies develop federal, state, and local government business and helps public sector organizations achieve their objectives. More than 2,000 member organizations, including small specialized companies, new entrants to the public sector, and the largest government contractors and agencies, rely on INPUT for the latest and most comprehensive procurement and market information, consulting, powerful sales management tools, and educational & networking events.  For more information about INPUT, visit www.input.com or call 703-707-3500.

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SOURCE INPUT