A new report from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers concludes that modernization depends less on funding models and more on leadership, governance and trust. State Government IT Investment Management: 2026 State CIO Insights and Recommendations, released September 16, offers several key takeaways for regulatory leaders. The report consistently emphasizes that successful technology leaders focus on outcomes. And tech investments gain support when these leaders show measurable improvements. In one example, a state funded an AI-powered chatbot to support citizens; they evaluated the success by measuring the outcome, such as caller satisfaction and issue resolution times. That state also invested in an innovation lab to help explore new use cases. “So, optimization isn’t (just) about reducing spend,” the report concludes. “It is about redirecting resources toward higher-value outcomes for citizens, agencies and the entire state.”
Based on the report, consider framing your agency’s regulatory modernization projects around outcomes such as:
In addition, the report suggests requiring every major technology initiative to demonstrate a direct connection to a mission outcome.
NASCIO conducted the research with Forrester Research, Inc. Greg Zorella, Principal Analyst at Forrester said, “Many organizations understand what technology costs. The next challenge is understanding what technology creates. The CIOs making the greatest modernization progress focused less on funding structures and more on aligning technology investments to mission outcomes, building trust with stakeholders and creating mechanisms that allow modernization to continue despite fiscal and organizational constraints.”
The National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) launched a national project to develop essential health and safety standards for child care licensing, according to a September 16 press release. NARA plans to publish the standards, as well as an implementation toolkit for regulators and providers, September 2027. NARA points to the inconsistency in licensing requirements from state to state, including different definitions of “health” and “safety.”
“Strong child care licensing begins with a clear understanding of the essential protections every child should be able to count on,” explains Jim Murphy, Executive Director and CEO of NARA. “This initiative will bring together expertise from across the country to develop practical, evidence-informed standards that jurisdictions can use to strengthen licensing systems while recognizing their unique needs and circumstances.”
According to a September 19 news report, a September 1 cyberattack on the Alabama Nursing Board that took the agency’s online licensing system offline, remains unresolved. According to nurse.org, staff must process each application by hand. The incident remains under investigation with no recovery timeline set. Alabama’s renewal window opened September 1 and closes December 31, with over 80,000 nurses due to renew their licenses.
In a September 10 update, Natalie Baker, Executive Officer for the Alabama Board of Nursing, stated: “Since the ABN’s September 4 update, recovery efforts have continued to progress, and some systems and services have been restored. Additional systems are being brought back online in phases as they are reviewed, validated, and determined to be ready for operation. While progress is being made, restoration of the Board’s full technology environment will take additional time. As a result, services may remain temporarily unavailable or experience delays as recovery efforts continue.”
Renee Moseley joined GL Solutions in 2016 with an educational and professional background in research and writing, along with software documentation. At GL Solutions she produces informative content to help regulatory agencies stay current on news and information that supports their success.
