New York shut out of national tech awards

Every year, the National Association of Chief Information Officers honors innovation and excellence in state governments’ technology projects, highlighting initiatives in categories like cybersecurity and emerging technologies. This year, as reported by StateScoop, 30 state projects were named as finalists in 10 categories, with North Carolina and Tennessee fielding four qualifying projects each. 

New York, however, was left off the list entirely.

NASCIO’s State IT Recognition Awards take submissions from state CIO offices or other state members with the CIO’s approval. The former state CIO, Robert Samson, recently announced his departure from the office and was replaced by interim CIO Joseph Rabito.

While New York’s Office of Information Technology Services submitted tech projects for consideration, it’s not clear which ones were submitted, how many or in what categories. A spokeswoman for NASCIO declined to share any information along those lines. What’s clear is that whatever projects were submitted didn’t stand up to the competition. 

Last year, New York was not named as a finalist in any of the 10 categories either, but submitted projects including New York Business Express, a portal for businesses to interact with state government, and a Disaster Preparedness Asset Tracker mobile app.

The state can take comfort in not being the only one slighted by NASCIO this year: Only 19 states were responsible for the 30 projects named as finalists. 

For the rest of today's tech news, head over to First Read Tech.