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Public Sector IT Leadership Driving Avondale’s Digital Transformation
Jeff Scheetz, Chief Information Officer, City of Avondale, AZ
Working across diverse city departments has shown me the importance of collaboration in digital transformation. My leadership style prioritizes building relationships and understanding the operational goals of each department, then using that knowledge to guide scalable, user-focused innovation.
We have all heard that being a CIO or IT leader is not about the technology but the people. I have seen time and time again that many technology solutions would meet the department’s needs. Still, without the staff’s transformation and acceptance, it is hard to realize the technologies complete benefits.
Overcoming IT Challenges and Advancing Services with Emerging Technologies
One of my biggest challenges is keeping pace with the organization’s rapidly evolving needs while managing citywide infrastructure and service delivery complexities. The demand for modernization, mobility, automation and data-driven decision-making continues to accelerate, yet the adoption of new technology is not always uniform across departments.
Each department has unique operational requirements, which often means an off-the-shelf solution to find the “best of breed” approach when it comes to software. While these solutions meet the business need, data integration becomes a challenge, along with growing technical debt, increased operating costs, integration issues, security risks and inefficiencies.
We’re leveraging cloud-based platforms to modernize service delivery and improve access to information. Moving key applications to the cloud has reduced staff time on routine updates and significantly strengthened our disaster recovery capabilities.
“The demand for modernization, mobility, automation and data-driven decision-making continues to accelerate, yet the adoption of new technology is not always uniform across departments”
We recently completed a pilot project using visual recognition technology to collect real-time survey data. Through a kiosk, attendees can respond to simple “yes/no” questions, such as did you enjoy the event?—by giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down gesture. This approach captures immediate feedback in a contactless, low-effort way, requiring no physical interaction from participants.
Innovative City Trends Shaping Future Government and Communities
Digital Twin technology will significantly impact the coming years. By creating a dynamic digital replica of the city, digital twins provide advanced 3D visualization. These models can help city staff and the community better understand proposed developments, changes, and long-term planning. These tools and resources will provide better information and better decisions.
Of course, we are living in the age of AI. AI stands to impact many industries, including government. AI can provide a 24/7 customer service operator to answer questions from the public. AI could enable tourists to ask questions, find restaurants, or attend events. AI can also be used in data analytics to understand utility bills and service usage better, or to guide a developer through receiving a permit.
Public sector leaders must remain curious, flexible and open to change to stay ahead. It’s about adopting new technology, understanding the community and delivering value.
I strongly believe in the importance of continuous improvement to become more responsible and resilient in serving the departments and our citizens. We foster teams committed to growth, innovation and long-term success by embracing the continuous improvement mindset.
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