The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is out with a report claiming Connecticut could save $248 million over five years by using IT and less state employees. Nationwide, the foundation claims as much as $11 billion could be saved by state governments over five years.
The report’s authors say, “Governments are supposed to harness IT to increase efficiencies, cut costs, and improve the quality of public services. All too often, however, governments focus primarily on improving services, not on increasing productivity.”
In a news release, Dr. Robert D. Atkinson, founder and president of ITIF and a co-author of the report, said, “But to achieve this promise of e-government, leaders will need to clearly articulate the goal of replacing labor with technology. They will need to take on entrenched political opposition and overcome an array of administrative challenges, including an unwillingness to increase IT investments that would generate significant returns.”
There are some skeptics to the claims. Donald Cohen, executive director of In The Public Interest, a Washington-based research and policy center, told CTNewsJunkie, “There’s no way to ever know how much money is going to be saved,” he said.
Among the suggestions by the foundation are:
- Replacing routine government employee tasks with self-service tools on the Internet, mobile devices, and kiosks.
- Automating routine government employee tasks such as manual entry of paper forms with online applications and smart, connected devices.
- Optimizing agency operations with data and analytics.
The foundation says each state has made efficiencies to increase productivity. Connecticut recently went through a major overhaul of its Department of Motor Vehicles website with a goal of increased automation and less dependence on office visits. However, according to the foundation, no state has made IT-led productivity a top priority.
