Homeland security, budget woes lead CIO meet

Budget and homeland security concerns will dominate the discussions at the annual meeting of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers Sept. 7-10 in Phoenix.

The organization expects CIOs from 43 states to attend.

Keynote speakers are former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and science fiction author and physicist David Brin. In addition, former U.S. senator and Nevada Gov. Richard Bryan will offer advice on lobbying.

The conference program includes sessions on some of the most pressing issues of the day, such as homeland security, state information technology budgets, IT purchasing, privacy and government transformation.

During a presentation on enterprise architecture, the association plans to screen clips from NASCIO's new architecture videos, while during a separate session on technology funding, the organization plans to release draft copies of a "Trends and New Approaches in Technology" brief.

One conference highlight will be the 2003 NASCIO recognition awards, which honor outstanding IT achievements. The association will bestow the awards on recipients from nine states during a dinner Sept. 9. The association also will give a new award for meritorious service to a CIO who showed dedication to state government IT and NASCIO.

NASCIO, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., represents CIOs from the 50 states, six U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Members include cabinet and senior-level state officials responsible for information resource management.