Reports/White Papers

A printed vesion of all reports/white papers are available at no charge to The Forum's member organizations and their staff. Nonmembers may download publications or, send $5.00 per title to the Forum for printed versions.

Note: Some of the reports below are available in PDF format only. If you are unable to open the PDF version, please contact us and we will provide an alternative format.

  • 2007 - 2008 Annual Report
  • 2006 - 2007 Annual Report
  • 2005 - 2006 Annual Report
  • 2004 - 2005 Annual Report
  • Mastering the Web Revolution in New York State Agencies, August 2005
  • Government Progress Through Corporate Best Practices The first three years of the IT Corporate Roundtable, September 8, 2004
  • 2003 - 2004 Annual Report
  • E-Government for All: Ensuring Equitable Access to Online Government Services

    The report, "E-Government for All: Ensuring Equitable Access to Online Government Services" published by the Center for Media & Community (CMC) and the NYS Forum includes "top 10 lists" of challenges and opportunities for achieving equitable public access to e-government. Some of the potential obstacles include an insensitivity to reading levels when publishing government documents, lack of public engagement on the accessibility of government websites, and user unfriendliness of e-government online resources. The opportunities outline measures that can be taken to realize the potential of e-government, including enforcement of Web accessibility and readability standards and the creation of ombudsmen positions in government agencies to monitor the performance of e-government resources.

    The report is a summary of the ideas generated during the November 2003 E-Government for All virtual conference (http://www.egov4all.org (External Link)). Approximately 1,300 people representing more than 80 countries participated in the two-week virtual event, co-sponsored by the Center for Media & Community's Digital Divide Network project, NYS Forum, Group Jazz and a coalition of programmatic partners. The report details discussions and case studies regarding e-government access and the challenges faced by underserved populations on the wrong side of the digital divide. The authors also propose four stages of achieving e-government for all: Initiation, Engagement, Integration and Equity.

  • Achieving E-Government for All: Highlights from a National Survey

    On October 22 at the National Press Club The Benton Foundation and the NYS Forum released a working paper on the accessibility and readability of government websites. The paper, written by Professor Darrell West of Brown University, examines the results of Brown's annual survey of government websites and addresses guiding principles to improve them.

  • 2002 - 2003 Annual Report
  • IT Procurement Improvement Committee

    These reports discuss the progress Made on Objective III of the NYS Procurement Council's Strategic Plan dated June 27, 2002. Objective III is as follows: Improve the procurement system's responsiveness with respect to service contracting, especially technology contracting.

    • Review of the New York State Procurement Statute - June 5, 2003
    • Committee's report to the Procurement Council on May 6, 2003
    • Committee's report to the Procurement Council on February 25, 2003
    • Committee's report to the Procurement Council on November 21, 2002
  • Supporting the Public's Business: Continuity Planning & NYS Government

    In the aftermath of 9/11 (September 11, 2001) public and private organizations scrambled to reassess their plans for business continuance in the face of previously unimaginable parameters of disaster. This paper briefly reviews the history of disaster preparedness in New York State from the legislative study of this phenomenon in 1978 to the current creation of organizations and positions to better position New York to deal with the realities of post-9/11. With the renewed and broadened thinking about dealing with disaster it is apparent that the concept of "business continuity planning" is a term that encompasses many of those terms and phrases previously used such as contingency planning, disaster preparedness, disaster prevention, and disaster recovery. This paper addresses the relationship of the historical approach to what is now encompassed by business continuity planning, and identifies the need for cohesiveness between business functions and supporting technology between development and implementation of planning decisions, and between and among agencies as vital to understanding and valuing this new and broader approach.

  • The Digital Divide: Understanding and Addressing the Challenge

    The Forum has embarked upon an initiative to address the digital divide in New York State. We have published a white paper that provides information on the various dimensions and implications of the digital divide. This white paper serves as a foundation upon which to base productive discussions in conference and work group environments. These discussions will be aimed at development of strategies reflected in law, policy, regulation and practice that begin to address and resolve this persistent problem of inequity.

  • Information Privacy: A Criminal Justice Overview

    The Forum's fourth and final information privacy whitepaper examines information privacy as it relates to the criminal justice system. In it, we look at the issues surrounding access to criminal records and criminal registries; the use of technology (such as DNA testing or analysis) to convict and track convicted criminals; technology-based crimes, including identity theft and cyber stalking; and the importance of integrating criminal justice information nationally.

  • Information Privacy: An International Perspective

    This whitepaper examines information privacy from an international perspective, and highlights some of the legal and cultural challenges to implementing information privacy in the context of multinational trade.

  • Information Privacy: Protection of Minors Online

    This whitepaper examines the issues surrounding information privacy and the protection of minors online.

  • Information Privacy: The Healthcare Industry Debate

    This whitepaper examines the issues surrounding information privacy and the protection of personally identifiable health data.  It also includes a number of policy questions concerning the use of information technology and its impact on an individual's right to privacy.

  • Investing in Technology: Funding Options and Choices for the IT Champion in State and Local Government (1999)

    [PDF document (225K)]. A working paper by Dall Forsythe of the Rockefeller Institute of Government which covers a quick overview of the budgetary process, and a reminder about some of the less visible paths to pursue in search of IT funding.

  • The Information Technology Workforce Crisis Planning for the Next Environment - Draft

    (1998)This is a look at the critical shortages of information technology professionals in the government sector and some strategies being used to address this crisis. Prepared by the NYS Forum for IRM.

  • Proposed Information Technology Standards for New York State (1997)

    These are the recommendations prepared by the NYS Forum for IRM and ICEDP for the NYS Office for Technology, regarding upgrading IT standards in New York State.

  • Supporting Medicaid Managed Behavioral Health Care Through Electronic Data Interchange

    (1997) This report, for the NYS Office for Technology, surveys current state capacities with respect to electronic exchange of human services information. It makes recommendations for specific projects to support interorganizational information exchange.

  • Paying for Government Services with Credit Cards

    (1996) [PDF document (80K)]. This report, for the NYS Office for Technology, reviews the use of credit cards for payment of government services in New York and other states, and identifies key components which should be included in government contracts with credit card vendors.

  • Business Process Reengineering and the Role of IRM

    (1994) This paper explains BPR and examines its impact for New York State government agencies. Includes recommendations for actions to be taken both within the Forum and in New York State government as a whole.

  • Managing Records in E-Mail Systems

    (1995) This State Archives and Records Administration (SARA) report highlights the issues related to managing an e-mail system from a records point of view. It also includes a sample e-mail policy, a guide to e-mail etiquette, and a selecter bibliography on e-mail.

  • Directory of State Government Digital Imaging Applications

    (1995) This SARA document provides a directory and description of imaging applications currently in use at New York State agencies.

  • Managing Records in Automated Office Systems

    (1995) SARA document which provides a basic overview of good practices for automated records management.

  • Turning Data into Understanding: A Field Guide to Knowledge Support Technology

    This PDF document, produced by The Forum, is designed to help government decision makers determine whether knowledge support technology tools can and should be used when they are faced with accessing the vast amount of data found in states' various electronic systems.

  • CTG Reports

    The Center for Technology in Government (CTG) at the University at Albany has several publications of interest to IRM professionals, including Sharing the Costs, Sharing the Benefits: The NYS GIS Cooperative Project, Supporting Psychiatric Assessments in Emergency Rooms, Groupware Technology Testbed, Voice Information Response System for Business Permit Assistance, Title Imaging Project, and Balancing Economic Development with Environmental Quality. These reports can be accessed at the CTG web site (External Link), in the publications directory.