The Integrated Services Program (ISP) was established in the Information Technology Investment and Enterprise Services (ITI&ES) of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) on May 15, 2006 at the direction of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). The ISP is the consolidation of the Public Safety Communications (PSC) and the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) Divisions as well as the Radio Engineering function of the previous Telecommunications Directorate. The goal of this reorganization is to leverage existing services and expand services to localities and public safety, more generally, to further the mission and vision of VITA.
As such, a business plan (pdf) has been created to guide the development of the ISP. Though it has an initial focus of the next12-24 months, it will be updated on a semi-annual basis to reflect changes in the needs of the customers of the ISP and to update work plans for each project in progress. ISP’s Business Plan implementation strategy includes a focus on the following key components:
Since the Code of Virginia, requires the existence of the PSC and VGIN Divisions, the organization of the Divisions within the ISP will remain relatively unchanged, though additional positions will be requested in future budget years. Similarly, both the VGIN Advisory Board and the Wireless E-911 Services Board will continue to perform the same functions they did prior to the creation of the ISP and will be supported by the VGIN and PSC Divisions, respectively. In addition to utilizing the Boards in the same capacity, several communities of interest network (COIN) councils will be formed to more adequately represent the stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth in each discipline.
The ISP will continue work on several projects, but will also begin to expand services during the next few years. However, it is important to note that no service within the ISP can be all things to all people. In order to remain focused on the implementation strategy listed above, some tough choices may be necessary about which services can or, maybe more importantly, cannot be provided by the ISP. The ultimate test will be whether the service provides the best return on the investment of time and funding.
Since much of the ISP is funded through the Wireless E-911 Fund, the ISP has a different funding source than the rest of VITA. However, the GIS services offered by the ISP are rated services and must collect sufficient revenue to support not only the delivery of the service, but also the basic operation of the VGIN Division. Though the service rates were approved by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) in December 2006, they will not go into affect until July 2008, and are thus untested. While current usage patterns of GIS services seems to indicate the services will be self sustaining, usage patterns may change once state agencies are required to pay for service they currently receive for free.
One of the biggest challenges for the ISP will be ensuring participation from all required partners. Many of the projects of the ISP will require the active involvement of many stakeholders (as many as 158 different agencies), but the ISP does not have the authority to compel participation. Encouragement and incentives have been the best approach for the ISP so far, but it is difficult to ensure 100% participation with only these tools available. Another challenge will be getting state agencies to pay for services that they currently receive for free, especially when basic funding is unavailable in many of these agencies.
Overall the outlook for the ISP is promising. The team established within the ISP (most having joined VITA in the last 12 months) is highly skilled, trained and motivated. One key to the continued success of the ISP will be the investment into the development of staff to ensure that they maintain their sharp edge. The VITA/NG partnership will also be an excellent opportunity for the ISP. Additionally, the ISP enjoys strong relationships with many state agencies and local governments that can be leveraged by the partnerships as services are expanded in the future.