California Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced a new initiative – dubbed the California Breakthrough Project – which aims to bring together leaders from the state’s top tech companies to make government operations more efficient.
To help kick-start this initiative, the governor on July 15 signed an executive order and announced the formation of a high-powered task force made up of tech executives and innovators.
The executive order directs state agencies to work together “to improve operational effectiveness, boost efficiency, and enhance customer experience, enabling innovation in delivery of services.”
“The Golden State continues to lead in efficiency, strategically implementing technologies and practices that make Californians’ lives better,” Gov. Newsom said in a press release. “As the birthplace of modern tech, our state is uniquely positioned to bring the best and the brightest together to advance our work. We will not shy away from progress, but embrace it for the benefit of all Californians, including our state workforce.”
Among other things, the executive order directs the California Department of Technology to identify ways to simplify IT project approval and IT procurement. It also wants the agency to develop shared IT contracting vehicles to reduce costs and establish an enterprise marketplace for business tools, including those utilizing AI.
Within 90 days of the executive order, state agencies are required to submit at least one idea to the governor’s office on how to improve operational efficiency within their agency.
As for the task force, the governor’s office said the group – which held its first meeting on June 6 – will help advise and advance government efficiency and collaboration.
The group includes leaders from companies including AME Cloud Ventures, Anduril, Coinbase, Instacart, Moonpay, Scopely, Snap Inc., Asheesh Birla (investor), Ron Conway (founder, SV Angel), Chris Larsen (executive chair, Ripple), Jeff Lawson (co-founder and former CEO, Twilio), Jen Pahlka (author of Recoding America), and Jason Wheeler (former CFO of Tesla).
The goal of the task force is to foster collaboration and bring in new ideas to address inefficiencies in government processes, services, and technology. The group will also “generate new California challenge-based efforts to catalyze modern solutions within public services,” according to the press release.
