And the winner is. . .

Well, that won’t be known until the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) has its annual conference between October 12 and 15 in Denver.

But just last week, the finalists were announced and they all deserve recognition. (In all, seventeen states were chosen as finalists, with Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin all noticed in two or more categories, with Washington holding the record with finalist status in six.)

Here’s the list:

Artificial Intelligence 

State of Indiana: Ask Indiana – A Portal-wide Generative AI Chatbot 

State of Minnesota: AI Tool Revolutionizing Legislative Review 

State of Washington: Smart Smoke Signals: AI Vision and Data for Faster Fire

Response  

Cross-Boundary Collaboration

State of Michigan: Secure, Swift, Successful: Michigan's ePollbook Transformed Early Voting 

State of Minnesota: State Agencies Unite to Feed Minnesota’s Children 

State of Tennessee: Healthcare Resource Tracking System (HRTS) 

State of Texas: Connecting the Dots to Protect the Most Vulnerable: Search Engine for Multi Agency Reportable Conduct (SEMARC)  

Cybersecurity 

State of Michigan: Web Application Security Modernization Project: Addressing Cybersecurity and Operational Challenges in Michigan 

State of Ohio: Ohio’s Defense-in-Depth Approach to Fraud Prevention 

State of Washington: Critical Connections: Protecting the Digital Pulse of Washington’s Roads and Rails  

Data Management, Analytics & Visualization 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Emergency Shelter Response: Shared Data Enabling Smarter, Compassionate Support 

State of Ohio: Innovating with Data to Minimize Risk: Preventing Drug Poisonings with Predictive Analytics 

State of Washington: One Address, One Truth: The Invisible Infrastructure Behind Fairer and Better Public Service Delivery  

Digital Experience: Agency/Program Solutions 

State of Kansas: Kansas Department of Labor: Taking Kansas Unemployment Insurance from Disco to Digital 

State of Missouri: Modernized e-Licensing System for Occupational Learning (MOPRO) 

State of Tennessee: One DHS Contact Center: One Call to Reach Them All - The Rise of Smart Customer Service  

Digital Experience: Enterprise Solutions  

State of Connecticut: Smart Scheduling: Elevating the DMV for a Smoother Experience 

State of Delaware: Go DE 

State of Wisconsin: Building Smarter: Wisconsin's Digital Leap in Capital Project Management  

Enterprise Technology Management 

State of Minnesota: From Data to Decisions: Minnesota’s Real-time Financial Management Revolution 

State of Ohio: The CCoE Way: Teach Them to Fish, and They’ll Modernize for a Lifetime 

State of Washington: Disrupting the Norm: How Washington Turned Procurement into a Platform for Innovation 

Information & Communications Technology   

State of Minnesota: Connecting Corrections: Statewide Wireless Infrastructure for Expanded Access and Equity 

State of North Carolina: Next Generation 911: Validating the Implementation of Next Generation 911 

State of Washington: SAFE & Sound: Revolutionizing Firearm Background Checks through Centralized, Secure, and Scalable Technology  

Operational Efficiency  

State of Arizona: SOLVE AI: Smart Operational Learning for Vulnerable Engagement 

State of Montana: Driven by Demand: How Montana's MVD Put People First 

State of Wisconsin: Wisconsin Connects with Customers  

State CIO Office Special Recognition 

State of California: CA.gov/LAfires: Rapid Response Digital Hub for Wildfire Recovery 

State of Michigan: Modernizing Collections in Government: Innovation that Works for the Taxpayer 

State of Washington: Modernizing the Mission: Washington’s Innovation & Modernization Program Paves the Future of Statewide Services 

#StateEnterpriseTechnologyManagement#NationalAssociationStateCIOS #NASCIO #NASCIO2025RecognitionFinalists #StateDigitalExperience #StateManagementAnalysisAndVisualization #StateCybersecurity #StateCrossBoundaryCollaboration #StateArtificialIntelligence #StateandLocalTechnologyManagement #StateOperationalEfficiency #StateOfficeCIORecogntion #StateInformationandCommunicationsTechnology #StateandLocalManagementNews #StateandLocalTechnologyNews #BarrettandGreeneInc