From technologist to 'digital governor': State CIO role has evolved dramatically

by Chris Teale, Route Fifty

DENVER — Since 2023, the job of state chief information officer has changed hands 44 times, with incumbents serving on average for around 30 months in their role. And with 36 states set for governor elections next year, more change may follow in the CIO's office.

Given that change and the turnover in state governments' technology leadership, the role of the CIO itself has evolved, according to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers' Annual Survey. No longer is the CIO expected to be purely a technologist with in-depth knowledge of infrastructure, machinery and the inner workings of a data center, for example.

Now, their role has shifted to be that of a strategist and communicator, and most importantly a change leader who can help guide their governments through challenging times. NASCIO Executive Director Doug Robinson said on stage at the group's annual conference last week that CIOs have had a "changing role" over the last couple of decades away from a "conventional technical guru" to a "business leader."

NASCIO's past surveys illustrate the shift that has taken place. In its 2023 iteration, the organization predicted that within the next three years, the CIO's primary role would be to set strategic direction and policy for its customer agencies, and to act as a broker of services. In 2022, NASCIO found that the most important leadership traits or attributes for CIOs to be strategist, communicator and relationship manager.

"Philosophically, this is almost a sense of a digital governor," said David Stevens, chief strategic advisor for state and local government at World Wide Technology. "It's a very different breed going into the future with the complexity and the nuances of technology today and artificial intelligence. You look back maybe 10 years ago, they were hyper focused on operations and behind the scenes, not necessarily communicating effectively with legislators."

That communicator role is critical for CIOs, especially as they push their legislatures for more money in state budgets for technology so they can fulfill their strategic goals in cybersecurity, modernization and more.