From Caribou Coffee to General Mills, Hennepin County is turning to major Twin Cities companies and their experts for advice on how the county can improve its technology and innovation efforts.
An advisory board of three chief information officers from top corporations volunteer their time for the county, meeting with county commissioners and county officials to share their expertise for free with Minnesota's most populous county.
"You can't do county work without technology," Hennepin County CIO Jerry Driessen said. "We're not just getting local advice — these are national experts."
From thousands of public computers at its libraries to its website, Wi-Fi at county buildings, online applications, payroll and online caseloads, Hennepin County increasingly relies on expensive technology.
That's why the County Board started the Information Technology Advisory Committee in 2010 to bring in outside experts from the private sector to see how they run technology and consult on everything from the cost of technology to security issues — like how to avoid having the website hacked.
With the Twin Cities home to some of the largest corporations in the country, why not tap some of that expertise?
"We can compare notes with these big companies for IT and innovation," Driessen said. "Technology was [years ago] seen as a support function — that's not true anymore. Technology has become an absolute part of how the county runs.
"We spend a lot of money on technology — how do we know it's in line with what we're doing … are we spending money the right way?"
The advisory group, which meets four times a year, includes representatives from General Mills, Caribou Coffee and Fairview Health Services. Two county commissioners and three county leaders also participate.
When county staffers were using county-issued Blackberries, the General Mills representative suggested the county instead move to a "bring your own device" model with a stipend for employees to use their own smartphones — a move that reduced expenses by 12 percent, Driessen said.
The advisory board helps with open data, with the county uploading tons of data online for residents and the public to access. It also helps evaluate how the county can recruit and retain IT employees in the competitive metro-area market.
Last month, a cyberattack on the Minnesota Judicial Branch's website made it inaccessible for a day, though officials said there wasn't evidence that secure data had been improperly accessed. When the county was redesigning its website, advisory board members recommended ways to avoid being hacked and keep data secure.
It's just one way the public sector is learning from and functioning more like the private sector. For instance, members of small businesses sit on the county's audit committee to improve the effectiveness of audit activities.
"It's absolutely a big deal," Driessen said about having the help of corporate leaders. "Because technology has become a significant part of how the county does business, the board is extremely appreciative [that] we make sure we're doing it the right way."
Kelly Smith • 612-673-4141
