Governor Pat McCrory’s initiative to modernize state government with the aim of making it more customer friendly for citizens has received national recognition.
One of the first efforts of this initiative, the North Carolina Innovation Center (iCenter), will be awarded the State CIO Office Special Recognition Award in the 2015 National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) State IT Recognition Awards.
“Interacting with state government should be as easy as using a smart phone,” Governor McCrory said. “North Carolina continues to be among the fastest growing states in the nation and if our services are to keep up with that growth, we must constantly find new efficiencies, particularly through technology.”
Governor McCrory established the iCenter in 2013 as a proving ground for information technology solutions. State agencies, chief information officers, private industry and students collaborate at the iCenter in a "try before you buy" approach to testing technology systems before the state invests in them. The iCenter was also recognized as a 2015 "Bright Idea" by the Ash Center at Harvard University, and was named a State IT Program of the Year 2015 by State Scoop.
One of the iCenter’s chief architects, Chris Estes, the state’s Chief Information Officer, will accept the award at NASCIO’s annual conference held in Salt Lake City.
“Under Governor McCrory’s leadership, we were able to establish the iCenter and work toward the governor’s vision of creating a more effective and efficient state government,” State CIO Chris Estes said. “Not only has the iCenter inspired a culture of innovation that enables emerging technology to flourish in North Carolina, but it has also sparked a national conversation about innovation in state government.”
The iCenter was chosen as one of 11 2015 NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards recipients from a field of 44 finalists and more than 100 nominations.