Governance frameworks are generally created to provide new capability for decision-making in organizations. As more and more governments are organizing programs and service areas in terms of enterprises, it becomes necessary to create new enterprise governance structures. Information technology is one of those areas where governments around the world are adopting enterprise orientations as a way to coordinate activities and to leverage investments.

New York State has made a large investment in information technology (IT) over the years and, as a consequence, is finding itself in greater need of an Enterprise Governance Framework for IT. In this project, CTG will bring together key stakeholders within the New York State IT enterprise to work collaboratively on the creation of this framework. The project will draw on insights from current IT governance structures within New York State, IT governance experiences nationwide, and lessons from the private sector, as well as exploring frameworks developed in the academic literature and from individual government practitioners through a series of workshops. This initiative is being carried out in partnership with the New York State CIO Council and the NYS Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO).

This enterprise IT governance structure will be designed to incorporate the necessary authority arrangements and decision-making processes to achieve strategic enterprise IT governance objectives, such as integrated planning and procurement. New York State government currently employs some of the elements of enterprise-level governance necessary to achieve the innovations and change envisioned. The new IT governance structure will build upon and extend these elements to achieve a more comprehensive scope and impact.

The main work of the project will focus on three core design questions:

• What is the most effective enterprise IT governance structure for New York State government?
• Does New York State government have the capability necessary to implement and sustain such a structure?
• If not, how should New York State create the necessary capability?

The project will culminate in a set of recommendations about New York State's enterprise IT governance structure design and implementation.