Marin Nets Top National Award For Digital Service

Press release from the Marin County Government:

July 20, 2021

San Rafael, CA – The County of Marin has scored the highest marks in the nation among government agencies for its use of digital technology.

The Center for Digital Government[External] released its list of top digital counties in the United States and placed Marin at No. 1[External] in the population category of 250,000 to 499,999. The organization noted, “The partnerships forged in the time of COVID-19 also extended past the pandemic, with IT partnering closely with other county departments on elections, cybersecurity and digital equity, especially in the county’s traditionally underserved Canal neighborhood (of San Rafael), where cross-sector partnerships helped get school students online via free Wi-Fi.”

Liza Massey, the County’s Chief Information Officer, said her Department of Information Services and Technology (IST) was notified of the Digital Counties Survey 2021 award on July 15.

“The challenges of the past year really fostered a sense of togetherness that permeated the entire IST team as well as the rest of the County government,” Massey said. In fact, County employees found themselves helping the community in many ways outside of their usual roles while deployed as disaster service workers.

Several collaborative initiatives were emphasized in IST’s award submission, including:

“I can’t over emphasize the importance of technology to all our residents, especially our older residents for telehealth and our younger residents for going to school and doing schoolwork,” said Board of Supervisors President Dennis Rodoni. “Technology has proven to be a great friend of transparency and access to local government. IST, all our departments, and all of Marin should be very proud of this national recognition.”

Looking ahead, IST and other departments are eager to continue the collective recovery from COVID-19 and maximize the use of technology in ways that foster racial equity. Massey said more projects are in the works to help close the digital divide, enhance digital literacy, and develop datasets that document prevalent racial disparities in Marin’s neighborhoods.

“When you shine the light on things, they change,” Massey said, “and technology can make that happen.”

This press release was produced by the Marin County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.