Got Sisp?

Abstract

Data from the Government Performance Project Year 2000 survey of Information Technology in state governments were analyzed to determine the status of strategic information systems and technology planning (SISP) in states. Qualitative and quantitative analyses indicate that information technology planning in most states may be more a middle-up than a top-down process. In most states, information technology planning is carried out at the agency rather than the state level, giving planning an operational (nonstrategic) rather than a policy focus. A possible explanation for this operational planning bias is the traditional structural separation in government between strategic policy decision making and technical and operational concerns. There is some support for this explanation in that states receiving top grades for information technology have overcome the separation by forming and empowering independent committees to link state government-wide decision making with information technology concerns.