Governors to Receive E-Gov Briefing

A group of the nation's governors studying how the Internet can change the way government operates will receive a briefing from private and public sector experts on the matter at an upcoming National Governors' Association meeting in Washington.

The exchange of ideas is scheduled to occur when the NGA's e-Governance Task Force meets on Feb. 26. The session is open to all governors.

The task force will focus on how governors can move state government toward business reorganization that will improve service to constituents and make states more competitive in today's economy.

"The goal of the session is to inform governors of the vast changes that information technology is bringing to management approaches in the private and public sectors," said Thom Rubel, NGA's program director for state information technology.

The task force will hear two presentations. Robin Warren, who is privacy executive for Bank of America Corp., will describe ways that IT has driven institutional changes in the financial services industry to create new and better services for customers. Steven Rockwood, who is executive vice president and board member of Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, will discuss what governors need to focus on as they work to transform state governments into more customer-focused, economically competitive organizations.

A roundtable discussion between the governors, their chief information officers, and the speakers will follow the presentations. The events will be moderated by Jerry Mechling, director of strategic computing in the public sector at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Cambridge. Mass.

The nine-member task force was appointed last July by the NGA chairman, Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening. The task force is chaired by Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer and Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton. Other governors serving on the task force are Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, Iowa Gov. Paul Vilsack, Maine Gov. Angus King Jr. and Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn.