The Snohomish County Department of Information Technology has recently been recognized with the 2nd place award in the 22nd Annual Digital Counties Survey for the 500,000 – 999,999 population category. The acknowledgment, bestowed by the Center for Digital Government (CDG) and the National Association of Counties (NACo), honors exceptional technology practices within counties across the United States. According to the county's official release, this recognition is indicative of the department's commitment to employing technology to improve governmental service delivery.
Focused on incorporating emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, the survey lauds participants who prioritize initiatives that modernize government operations. Teri Takai, CDG's senior vice-president, emphasized, “This year’s survey results highlight how counties are responsibly embracing new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence in its various forms and other digital tools and platforms to respond to top priorities of their constituents and elected officials,” Takai's statement, obtained by Snohomish County’s official website.
Snohomish County's leap to the second-spot victory is credited to its strategic foresight and its efforts to engage residents effectively. The IT department has taken significant strides in assessing the digital experience offered to its residents, from online platforms to social media engagement, aiming to streamline their interactions with county services. A reworked IT strategic plan, as announced by the county, now includes this omnichannel approach in its objectives, with a full-scale website redesign currently in the pipeline.
In addition to these online initiatives, a new position focusing on data stewardship and privacy has been established to ensure proper management of various types of data. The Data Governance Steering Committee has seen a resurgence, now featuring a structured representation from different county departments to ensure broad oversight. As part of their digital equity push, the department collaborated with several county offices to allocate $5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act towards enhancing the county's broadband infrastructure, as mentioned in the official release. This investment demonstrates a comprehensive approach, directed at narrowing the digital divide for the public.
“I am incredibly proud of our IT team that year-after-year continues to rise to the top nationally in this competition. This is not an easy feat. Our ability to do this is based on the strong customer focus the team demonstrates and their ability to build trusted partnership with our internal customers in the county. I am also very grateful for the ongoing support of our mission by the Executive Office and County Council.” said Viggo Forde, Snohomish County’s CIO and Director of Information Technology. In his statement to the county's official communications channel, Forde acknowledged the dedication and customer-centric approach that enabled their continued excellence, while also expressing his gratitude for the support from the Executive Office and County Council which facilitates their pursuit to innovate and improve.
