Digital Summit Summary

By Dorene Gerrish, OIT

Chief Information Officer Greg McNeal and the remainder of the OIT Management Team express their thanks to all who participated in the Maine Digital Government Summit; and extend particular gratitude to those from within and outside of state government who shared their knowledge and insight during the breakout sessions, whether as a member of a panel or the audience in a session.

Technology plays an important role in the successful operation of government. The information exchanged during panel sessions, and the opportunity for networking during this event, is invaluable as we work towards our goal of providing effective and efficient use of technology.

Throughout the event, feedback is sought through anonymous surveys. Below is a compilation of the results.
OVERALL SATISFACTION: A phenomenal 100% of the surveys rated their satisfaction as Good to Excellent, and the vast majority (79%) rated it either Exceptional or Very Good. Clearly the Summit was of value. There were 260 government employees in attendance, and sponsors in addition to that.

CONFERENCE FACILITY: The Center was rated 92% Good to Excellent.  We did have a few comments about the rooms being too crowded and uncomfortable chairs and some noise spilling over into one of the breakout rooms.

SPEAKERS AND SESSIONS: Our keynote speaker, Steve Uzzell, received 100% Good to Excellent ratings, with 75% Excellent; 20% Very Good, and 5% Good.
Some of the comments included: 

  • Speaker very engaging
  • Very inspirational
  • Very inspiring! Truly enjoyed his talk
  • It’s nice to observe the work of a master!
  • Fantastic!

Our lunch speaker, Barry Driscoll, received 96% Good to Excellent, with the following comments as samples:

  • Good solid food for thought
  • Content appropriate for tech pros and decision makers. Speaker very knowledgeable
  • Good food for thought vis-à-vis State Government
  • Where do we sign up?

Most of the breakout sessions were well-received, with the highest rated being: Shared Services and Re-usable Systems, Future of the Desktop, Mobility and Management, and Health IT.

Here are some comments from the surveys:

  • This was an excellent forum for many people of many sectors to discuss important (new) ideas, such as cloud computing and less-hardware-centric models.
  • Opportunity to network with vendors and co works is great (usually not enough time or oppt’y) Featured speaker gave us a fresh way to look at how we can do our work more effectively. Lunch was very well done. Breaks were spaced out well. A day well spent.
  • It’s a great annual event.
  • Include towns, counties, private local IT services; private sector companies get center wired for access – more tech solutions to problems case studies.
  • I was disappointed that there were no healthy snacks (fruit, etc.) but only junk food and sweets for those of us who watch our weight.

If you would like information on the Merit Awards, including the nomination submissions, please visit the Office of Information Technology’s “Merit Awards” page, http://inet.state.me.us/oit/aboutus/MeritAwards/index.html .

Photos of the conference can be viewed at the following link (thank you to Eric Stout for the photography!): http://inet.state.me.us/oit/training/DigitalSummit-2010/Photos/Default.aspx .

We look forward to the 2011 event and your continued participation.