On Tuesday, March 2nd, Discourse in Democracy hosted a virtual presentation by John Hoffman, Deputy State of Texas CIO and Chief Technology Officer at the Texas Department of Information Resources. Mr. Hoffman provided an overview of the efforts undertaken by the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR).
Across Texas government agencies, information technology is decentralized. However, the DIR is tasked with setting the strategic tone that agencies follow to deliver services efficiently. Additionally, DIR assists local government, public school districts, vendor partners, and other entities that serve the public. Mr. Hoffman stated that the statewide impact of DIR includes strategic guidance through recommendations to the legislature and responses to natural disasters and cyberattacks. For example, the Texas cyber infrastructure is threatened millions of times per day. However, many of the persistent threats against the system are blocked. DIR’s role in privacy protection is a multiprong approach that involves security policy and operations, data management best practices, IT solutioning for agency services, and transparency through the Texas.gov open data portal. Mr. Hoffman noted that data is the new gold that is threatened by people trying to steal it and mine it.
One of the future projects that DIR is constructing involves a personalized dashboard to improve the experience of Texans interacting with government. For instance, motorists will receive reminders about vehicle registration deadlines, given advice about where to go and when to go, and have updated tracking information for their inspection stickers. Another possibility with the dashboard is to give residents the opportunity to facilitate their recreational activities.
Mr. Hoffman outlined various reasons why students should consider working for DIR as interns or full-time employees. He noted that DIR offers a mentor program, public service loan forgiveness, tuition reimbursement, and a discount purchase program. Students interested in working with DIR can search their website https://dir.texas.gov.
