Mark Fine's presentation for the Making IT Work Conference.

1. MUNICIPAL
IT COLLABORATION
Making IT Work:
Modernizing Local Government with Information Technology
October 18, 2016

2. IT Collaboration
Cities and towns are increasingly working together to enhance their IT
capacity and knowledge-base. Whether it’s sharing personnel or
services between cities and towns, or between municipal and school
departments, communities are finding value in collaboration. But while
collaboration can provide benefits to all parties involved there are
different approaches and steps communities can take to make it work.
Join this breakout to learn from panelists who have taken collaborative
approaches to municipal IT and can speak to its benefits, challenges
and steps to success.

3. Moderator/Panelists

4. Town of Foxborough and Public Schools Joint
I.T Operations
• What has happened?
• Connect
• How it happened?
• Communicate
• How it works?
• Collaborate
• How do you overcome barriers?
• Stakeholder Involvement, Manage Expectations
• Lessons for others
• Celebrate Accomplishments
The Town of Foxborough and Public Schools consists of twenty Municipal
Departments, three Elementary Schools, one Middle School and one High
School.
The J.I.T Department Supports Approximately 600 Staff Members and 2,700
Students and over 5000 Devices.

5. What has happened - Connect
Next generation government offices and classrooms are full of technology and encourage collaboration
Municipal Government
Developing Technology
• Online Bill Payment
• Online Permitting
• Web and Internet Presence
• GIS Information Systems
• Public Safety Reporting
• Water Management Systems
• Online Collaboration
• Professional Development
Strained municipal budgets create challenges as municipalities work to maintain existing service
levels while facing new service demands, regulations and the need for additional technology …
to adequately respond to contemporary needs. (Foxborough Master Plan, PG. 4.1)
Education
Developing Technology
• Online Collaboration
• Interactive Learning
• Online Student Assessment
• Web and Internet Presence
• Data Analysis
• Educational Operations
• Library Systems
• Food Service
• Emergency Notification
Identify Organizational Commonalities

6. How It Happened ? - Communicate
Municipal and Educational Plans Identify Organizational Needs
• Wireless Coverage and Capacity
• Network Bandwidth
• Internet Bandwidth
• Productivity
• Software Self Service
• Cloud Computing and Access
• Internet and Web Presence
• Mobile Technology
• Telephone, Remote and Desk Side
Support
• Budget Development
• Inter-Municipal Agreements
• Service Level Agreements
• Scope of Services
• Request Prioritization
• Workflow
• Hours of Support
• After Hours Support
Identify Organizational Needs Coordinate and Support

7. How It Happened ? - Communicate
Coordinate and Support
Municipal & School technology plans and articles are submitted annually .
These incremental investments ensure adequate device and software refresh
cycles. Department's Budget for Proprietary Hardware and Software

8. How It Works? - Collaborate
Technology Steering Committee
The Town of Foxborough and Foxborough Public Schools have Technology Steering Committees comprised of key stakeholders
from Town Departments. The Committees meets regularly. Community leaders, and parents are invited to meet with the Steering
Committees to provide ongoing community involvement and provide feedback on the technology. Outreach to local business
partners in support of technology initiatives is ongoing.
The purpose of the Technology Steering Committee is as follows:
• To examine our current technology systems and how they are used
• To provide guidance and act as a think tank for issues/challenges that arise as part of infusing technology
• To identify strengths and needs (i.e., deployment of mobile devices, software, technology resources)
• To prioritize those needs and set goals for the future

9. Town of Foxborough and Public Schools Joint
I.T Operations
• How do you overcome barriers?
• Communication, Stakeholder Involvement, Manage Expectations and Plan for
the Future
• Lessons for others
• Communicate Solutions and Celebrate Accomplishments
Aaron Hyre
Director of Technology
Town of Foxborough
and Public Schools
hyrea@Foxborough.k12.ma.u
s

10. Barre/Rutland Regional IT: What have we
done?
HIRED
1 Person
SAVED
+$25,000.00
STRONGER
Dedicated Fiber
ADDED
24/7 support

11. Barre/Rutland Regional IT: What makes IT
work?
The
people.

12. What Does Collaboration Look Like?
• Simple conversations within your community
• Shared services and resources within your communities
• Simple conversations with neighboring communities
• Regular regional gatherings and information sharing
• Regional shared services
• Regional shared staffing

13. Collaborative Efforts Across the State
• Conway / FRCOG Best Practices Effort
• Western Mass IT Group
• South Shore IT Group
• Shared serviced in Hampshire County
• Shared resources in Central Mass
• Metro West IT Group?

14. Community Compact Opportunities
• Best Practice Program
• Strategic Planning
• Transparency & Data Standards
• Business Continuity
• Citizen Engagement
• Efficiency and Regionalization Grant Program
• Round 1 applications due November 15th
• IT Grant Program
• Applications accepted in March

15. Recent Community Compact Work

16. Resources
• MASS.GOV/CCC
• MASS.GOV/MASSIT/OMST