Center for Digital Government Announces 2024 Digital Counties Survey Winners

The survey commends counties embracing innovative technologies, data governance, cybersecurity and equity efforts for more responsive and effective government.

FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, July 11, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Center for Digital Government (CDG) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) have announced the winners of the 22nd Annual Digital Counties Survey. The survey, in partnership with NACo, identifies the best technology practices among U.S. counties, including initiatives that streamline delivery of government services; provide data analytics to allow decisions based on performance and outcomes; enhance cybersecurity; and apply innovative and emerging technologies to county priorities.

“This year’s survey results highlight how counties are responsibly embracing new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence in its various forms and other digital tools and platforms to respond to top priorities of their constituents and elected officials,” said Teri Takai, senior vice-president, CDG. “The Center for Digital Government is excited to recognize and congratulate this year’s winners for their accomplishments and continuing efforts to use technology to make government better.”

“The Digital Counties Survey illustrates how counties are on the cutting-edge, pursuing innovative approaches to serve our residents,” said NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase. “Counties are thoughtfully adopting technologies like artificial intelligence and data platforms to enhance civic engagement, increase efficiency, and strengthen our communities today and for the future.”

This year’s first-place winners are:
 Alameda County, Calif. (1,000,000 or more population category):
Alameda County’s “IT People Plan” is a model workforce recruitment and retention plan emphasizing staff development - resulting in a 50% lower turnover rate. The county drafted a Generative AI Policy and produced eight successful AI projects including AI chatbots that reduced the volume of help tickets by 80% and an app which successfully matched 40% of unhoused residents with permanent housing. The county also launched a Health Equity Portal.

 Jefferson County, Colo. (500,000 – 999,999 population category):
Jefferson County reorganized to focus on their digital experience and also to align with their diversity, equity and inclusion goals by developing frameworks and by considerable effort towards broadband equity. The “Secure Jeffco” plan is commendable not only for aligning to national standards, but also for taking a strategic view of cybersecurity that includes both infrastructure and humans. The county’s innovative fellowship program includes a partnership with MIT.

 Chesterfield County, Va. (250,000-499,999 population category):
Chesterfield County collaboration efforts are exemplary - for example, the required staff training in cybersecurity is now available to vendors. They established the collaborative Web Content Contributors (WCC) Community of Practice, and new collaborative data governance policies. Business process reengineering in land development departments reduced the amount of time to complete resident services and improved the project delivery metrics by almost 50 percent.

 Arlington County, Va. (150,000-249,999 population category):
The county appointed a Customer Relationship Manager to oversee constituent interactions for the constituent experience/omnichannel program. For example, they implemented a unified payment system across all county departments. Arlington continues to innovate using AI and Machine Learning, for example to distinguish emergency and non-emergency public safety calls. The county furthered their cybersecurity goals with nine tabletop cyber emergency exercises involving more than 400 employees.

 Calvert County, Md. (up to 150,000 population category):
Calvert County implemented a Data Classification Policy to systematically classify and safeguard data, and launched several OpenAI-powered chatbots, including John the Legal Eagle, Workday, Wizard, and the Calvert County Retirement Chatbot. They established an AI Committee to guide and oversee the integration and ethical use of AI technologies, reinforcing their commitment to responsible data governance.

CLICK HERE for the full list of top 10 winners in each of the five population categories.

CDG expresses its gratitude to the Digital Communities underwriters of this year’s survey and awards program: Premier Members - Avanade and Amazon Web Services; Standard Members - SHI International Corp. and Workday.

The top 10 winners are being honored at a special awards event during the National Association of Counties annual conference on July 12 in Hillsborough County, Florida.

About the Center for Digital Government:
The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute focused on technology policy and best practices in state and local government. CDG provides public- and private-sector leaders with decision support and actionable insight to help drive 21st-century government. CDG is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s largest data, media and events company for state and local government and education.

About NACo:
The National Association of Counties (http://www.naco.org) strengthens America’s counties, including nearly 40,000 county elected officials and 3.6 million county employees. Founded in 1935, NACo unites county officials to advocate for county government priorities in federal policymaking; promote exemplary county policies and practices; nurture leadership skills and expand knowledge networks; optimize county and taxpayer resources and cost savings; and enrich the public’s understanding of county government.

For NACo questions, contact Nicole Weissman, Director of Strategic Communications: 202-942-4278 or nweissman@naco.org.

Janet Grenslitt, Director of Surveys and Awards
e.Republic | Center for Digital Government
+1 916-932-1300
jgrenslitt@erepublic.com
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