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.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lyn M. Holley

Lyn M. Holley is an assistant research professor at the University of Kansas Gerontology Institute in Lawrence, Kansas. [email protected]

Donna Dufner

Donna Dufner is an assistant professor in the information systems and quantitative analysis department of the School of Information Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. [email protected]

B. J. Reed

B. J. Reed is the dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He assumed the dean’s position in 2001 after 15 years as chair of the department of public administration. His research interests include information technology, strategic planning, and financial administration. [email protected]