1 1 STATE OF FLORIDA COUNCIL ON EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT 2 3 4 5 6 PUBLIC MEETING 7 8 May 13, 2009 9 10:00 a.m - 11:23 a.m. 10 11 4075 Esplanade Way 12 Room 152 13 Tallahassee, Florida 14 Reported by: 15 LISA A. BABCOCK, Court Reporter 16 For the Record Reporting, Inc. 1500 Mahan Drive - Suite 140 17 Tallahassee, Florida, 32308 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 2 1 P R E S E N T 2 Secretary Linda South, Chairman 3 Secretary Kurt Browning 4 Steve Evans 5 Diana Flagg 6 Henry Garrigo 7 Akhil Agrawal, Appearing telephonically 8 Tim Yandell, Appearing telephonically 9 Caroline Mooney 10 Evelyn Gonzales 11 Noah McKinnon 12 Suzanne Keele 13 * * * 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 3 1 PUBLIC MEETING 2 SECRETARY SOUTH: Good morning. So we shall 3 start, call the meeting to order. And if you will, 4 call the roll, please. 5 MS. KEELE: Chairman South? 6 SECRETARY SOUTH: Here. 7 MS. KEELE: Diana Flagg for Chief Financial 8 Officer Alex Sink? 9 MS. FLAGG: Here. 10 MS. KEELE: Director Lisa Echeverri? 11 Secretary Kurt Browning? 12 SECRETARY BROWNING: Here. 13 MS. KEELE: Council Member Timothy Yandell? 14 MR. YANDLL: Here. 15 MS. KEELE: Council Member Akhil Agrawal? 16 MR. AGRAWAL: Here. 17 MS. KEELE: Council Member Steve Evans? 18 MR. EVANS: Here. 19 MS. KEELE: Let me it be noted for the record 20 that Director Echeverri is not present. And we 21 have a quorum established with six members present. 22 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay; thank you very much. 23 I will now entertain a motion to approve the 24 minutes from our last meeting of August 14th, 2008 25 or accept any corrections. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 4 1 MR. EVANS: So moved. 2 SECRETARY SOUTH: Hearing a moved by Mr. 3 Evans -- 4 MR. YANDLL: Second. 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: -- and second by 6 Mr. Yandell, all in favor, say aye. 7 (A chorus of Ayes.) 8 SECRETARY SOUTH: Opposed? The meeting 9 minutes approved. 10 I would like to take this opportunity -- it is 11 my pleasure to introduce our newest Council Member, 12 my partner in crime on the Governor's Executive 13 Team, Secretary of State Kurt Browning. Mr. 14 Browning has served as Pasco County Supervisor of 15 Elections for 26 years before being appointed by 16 the Governor to serve as the 29th Secretary of 17 State in 2006. During his tenure as Supervisor of 18 Elections, Secretary Browning was involved in 19 Florida's elections community through service in 20 leading state and national elections organizations. 21 Secretary Browning has also been dedicated to 22 civic service through many of Pasco County's 23 community organizations. Secretary Browning serves 24 as Florida's Chief Cultural Officer and Chief 25 Elections Officer and is custodian of the official FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 5 1 State Seal. As Secretary, Browning also oversees 2 corporate formation activities, public libraries, 3 historic preservation and serves as the State's 4 official record keeper. 5 Secretary Browning received a bachelor's 6 degree in political science and a master's degree 7 in public administration from the University of 8 South Florida, while also considering himself a 9 Gator fan as his both sons have graduated from the 10 University of Florida. And I know also that he's 11 very active in the scouting community. His boys 12 have achieved the rank of eagle scout under his 13 parental leadership. 14 So, Kurt, we're just delighted to have you 15 bring your particular treasure and talent to us and 16 welcome aboard. 17 SECRETARY BROWNING: Thank you very much. 18 Looking forward to it. 19 SECRETARY SOUTH: All right. As it is our 20 custom, I will now ask if there is any public 21 comment. This being a public meeting, we always 22 solicit the -- hi, Fred. You're the public here. 23 Hearing none, moving on to the next item on the 24 agenda. 25 As you know, we have agreed to the respect for FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 6 1 your time, and we do not want to convene the 2 official council unless there is business to be 3 had. The most important business that we would 4 have would be your necessary involvement in a case 5 study if it came forward and would require our 6 action. So we do want to put the meeting -- these 7 meeting schedules on your calendar. Knowing, of 8 course, if there is not meaningful business, we 9 will not subject you to travel or calendar 10 manipulations to be here to meet if it's not 11 necessary. So we will have those happen there. 12 All right. At this point, I'm going to ask 13 Henry to give us an update on -- you know, there is 14 the work of the Council, those of us sitting here 15 at the table, and then there is the work of the 16 Council staff which is ongoing. Just because we 17 don't have cases to see, that don't rise to the 18 level that requires your response, the staff does 19 bring great deal of value to the state in many 20 ways. And at this point, I would like to have 21 Henry give you some background history on what 22 we've been accomplishing since we last met. 23 MR. GARRIGO: Thank you, Chairman. In your 24 materials, as well as here in the room, we have 25 just a quick recap on where we are year to date. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 7 1 So working on fiscal year, starting July 1st last 2 summer, we have reviewed to date 23 business cases, 3 all of them under the $10 million-dollar threshold 4 that would require formal Council review, but we 5 have gone ahead and issued advisory reports. We 6 reviewed them and issued advisory reports on these 7 cases, well over $23 million dollars in total 8 value, lifetime contract value, and have identified 9 through our analysis potential savings to the state 10 in excess of $55 million dollars. So that's 11 ongoing. We still have a couple months left in the 12 year. 13 We put some additional information up here on 14 how it compares to last year, so we are seeing an 15 increase in the number cases, as well as the total 16 dollar amounts and in the projected savings. So 17 all the indicators are going up. We are engaging 18 with more agencies and are getting more traction 19 with that, and we're getting more cases coming in. 20 They're asking us for more information. They're 21 still in the development phase and understanding 22 the process, but we are seeing that go up. So we 23 fully expect to supersede last year's numbers. 24 A couple of the examples that we've had, just 25 as an FYI since there's a lot of numbers up there FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 8 1 and nothing has come across your desk, typical of 2 the things we do is looking at different projects 3 that come out of the agencies. We threw up here 4 one from the Office of Financial Regulation on an 5 outsource that they were proposing for the Florida 6 Deferred Presentment Database. This is the 7 check-cashing process that's available here in the 8 state. There was an outsource submitted to us, we 9 reviewed it, and it did prove to be a worthwhile 10 endeavor. We gave a formal favorable review and it 11 resulted in some savings to the state in excess of 12 $3-and-a-half million dollars. 13 Conversely, we had another one come in from 14 DJJ, and it was actually for a business case they 15 had for food services. And one of the alternatives 16 they had was the possibility of insourcing it. And 17 that actually happened to be the best proposal, 18 both financially and for the cost-savings end of 19 it. We recommended they go forward with that 20 option. That resulted in a savings to the state of 21 over $2 million dollars over four years, as well as 22 they actually got budgeted some FTEs, 176 FTEs, to 23 look at that. 24 So I wanted to throw these examples up there 25 just to show you some of the work we're doing. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 9 1 We're looking at outsourcing, obviously, as covered 2 by statute, but the agencies are also engaging us 3 to help them formalize some proposals that have 4 alternative sourcing, not just straight 5 outsourcing. Sometimes it's status quo with no 6 change to the contract, and sometimes it could 7 actually be insourcing with new FTEs. Questions? 8 MR. EVANS: Yeah. It appears to me in going 9 through this, you guys are really going outside the 10 role of your statutory authority and being very 11 proactive. And I mean that in a positive way. 12 This is very positive, that you guys are really 13 taking a very proactive approach to try and build 14 the skills across state agencies and not in a 15 threatening way but in a very conciliatory, 16 team-building way. And as a result of that, 17 they're starting to really embrace you guys and 18 learn the business practices and more importantly 19 put those into play that are yielding these kinds 20 of savings. Is that a fair statement? 21 MR. GARRIGO: Yes; absolutely. And it flows 22 from the statutory authority we have. In reviewing 23 business cases, we do ask that the agencies propose 24 alternatives and do the analysis of the individual 25 alternatives to find out which is the right FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 10 1 solution and not act intuitively as they have in 2 the past. Sometimes we've outsourced things or 3 gone down a particular road, because we think it's 4 the right thing without doing the full analysis. 5 Our position in the system encourages them to 6 look at alternatives and actually prove their 7 theories and possibly discover other alternatives 8 that they hadn't considered, and sometimes it does 9 lead to insourcing. So we're not proposing or are 10 a proponent of any particular sourcing alternative 11 as much as we're encouraging the formal analysis, 12 and it yields a variety of different results. 13 MR. EVANS: Right. But the point being that 14 you're taking a very proactive, direct, measurable 15 and accountable role, and it's yielding specific 16 cost savings back to the state. 17 MR. GARRIGO: Yes. Absolutely, we're getting 18 that. 19 MR. EVANS: How are you capturing those cost 20 savings? And what, then, is being subsequently 21 done? 22 MR. GARRIGO: Well, we have two things that we 23 do. One, we report out formally in our annual 24 report on the status of outsourcing within the 25 state government. We'll talk a little bit about FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 11 1 that and the process; that's coming up. And then 2 there is a close-loop process with a final business 3 review that we do suggest that agencies report back 4 to us when they get to the contracting phase. We 5 haven't really gotten too many of those back in, 6 but it is part of our process. We do educate them 7 on it, and we are encouraging them to do that. 8 SECRETARY SOUTH: You know, Members, I have a 9 note on my agenda that I'd like to have an open 10 discussion at the end of our scheduled agenda about 11 what we'd -- some ideas we'd like to -- about the 12 Council's future and what we need it to do. 13 Because as it's configured, as it was configured 14 originally, I think the environment has changed. 15 And I think the role of CEG can be expanded, but we 16 need to talk about that because we do have some 17 statutory limitations. So at the end, start 18 thinking about what may be a good idea to do that. 19 Okay. Henry, now if you would please, speak 20 with us about the updates on your business 21 training, your business case training. 22 MR. GARRIGO: Thank you. Yeah; along those 23 lines that Council Member Evans just spoke about, 24 the way we are being proactive is actually going 25 out into the agencies and educating them on a FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 12 1 couple of things: obviously, the statutory 2 requirements on the reporting; we're also educating 3 them on best practices. 4 We found as we get out into the agencies, 5 there are a lot of folks who are willing to 6 participate, but they just don't have any of the 7 resources or the knowledge or skills how to do it. 8 So we've developed some case training on best 9 practices and things that they should do. We also 10 educate them on the resources that we have 11 available to support their needs in developing 12 business cases and have some tools available for 13 them, particularly cost benefit tools and risk 14 assessment tools. So we've gone out to agencies. 15 We've been a little bit, as I usually say, 16 resource constrained on what we can do as far as 17 proactively going out and dedicating resources to 18 it. But we have trained four agencies this year so 19 far, about 55 people in the procurement and program 20 phases of the organizations, and we are impacting 21 change. Again, to your point, Mr. Evans, there are 22 a couple agencies that have actually decided to 23 build the business, the formal business case 24 process, into their operations. 25 The CFOs offices, DFS is doing it, as well as FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 13 1 the Department of Corrections and the DJJ. So what 2 had not been in existence before as a check is now 3 a part of their standard operating procedures. And 4 that's directly a result of the Council's efforts. 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: Our next item is the 6 information, the fiscal information, about our web 7 history. So, Henry, if you'll -- 8 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah. Following on that, we do 9 have a variety of resources available via our 10 website. We're trying to web enable as much as we 11 can, and we'll talk a little bit about some of the 12 activities we have in that space as well a little 13 bit later. But I just wanted to show you the 14 current activity. 15 The top chart that we have here, if you're 16 following along, is the activity since our last 17 meeting. It's pretty steady. There are a couple 18 of spikes. We're trying to figure out exactly what 19 that was in February. But it's pretty regular. We 20 like to see it stay stable. We'd like to see it 21 growing, and as we put more up there, I think we'll 22 see some more activity. 23 We also like to cover what is the most popular 24 site, and Secretary Browning, you being new to the 25 Board, you will be happy to know that you guys used FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 14 1 to be the most popular visited site on our website. 2 But you've fallen to number two in the most recent 3 reporting. So we're happy to see that our 4 resources and forms, which are the tools that we 5 have available, have actually passed the Council 6 Members as the most popular site. So no disrespect 7 intended, but we're happy to see that you're number 8 two. 9 Along with, obviously, a bunch of information 10 there on the reports. Reports that we have up 11 there are the annual reports, as well as some 12 special reports. We're still getting a lot of 13 interest in the special report we did 18 months ago 14 to the Governor on some large outsourcing projects. 15 And then, obviously, the FAQs and general 16 information follows. We have some new initiatives 17 that we're going to talk about shortly that will 18 probably interest you, based on the web, and we'll 19 see some more activity on that. 20 SECRETARY SOUTH: Good. Moving now to the 21 budget, I do want to speak to Council Members about 22 this last legislative session. As we all know, it 23 was one of the most interesting legislative 24 sessions in recent memory. The agencies were 25 required to participate in activities, to give the FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 15 1 Legislature choices on how they were going to 2 balance the budget. And it was my decision to 3 offer up the Council on Efficient Government as a 4 potential place to take money out of the state's 5 budget. 6 As I spoke with Henry and the staff, it in no 7 way was designed to say that we did not like the 8 work of the Council, that they did, but we had to 9 deliver something. So I gave the Legislature a 10 whole handful of entire programs to consider 11 cutting. I'm very pleased to know that nobody even 12 picked up a sniff or a whiff of taking out the CEG. 13 So this is the second year they've had to go 14 through this exercise. I just want to thank the 15 staff for staying steady and understanding that 16 exercises are exercises and doing the good job they 17 needed to do while we were in those very difficult 18 budget talks. I will say that, and we'll come back 19 to this again, that as we were discussing what we 20 put on the block for discussion, there was support 21 for CEG by the Legislature. So that makes me feel 22 good and that will feed into my conversation with 23 you all as we get to the end of the agenda. 24 So having said that, we do have a very limited 25 budget. There is a lot of juice that comes out of FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 16 1 the squeeze for this money. So, Henry, if you'll 2 tell us how we're going to spend that. 3 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah; definitely. As the 4 Chairman mentioned, the current budget bill, which 5 just passed not too long ago, does have us fully 6 funded at current levels, so the previous year's 7 levels, the 8/9 levels. So we're happy to see 8 there was some visibility of the Council and its 9 work in the Legislature and the Governor's office, 10 that they didn't seriously consider us for cuts. 11 We would hope that as soon as possible, they take 12 the opposite action and do help us to grow. We do 13 have the four full-time FTEs funded, as well as we 14 have some extra budget for OPS. We have our OPS 15 here present. 16 To the Secretary's point, we internally have 17 also been trying to work to save money wherever 18 possible, being more efficient in our operations. 19 Some of the things that we've done over the past 20 year to help the cause, if you will, have been the 21 items that I have placed up here. We've 22 consolidated our rent moving down to Southwood, as 23 well as taking up as little space as possible down 24 there. We've moved, as has been directed, to 25 reduce the use of Blackberries, cell phones, PDAs, FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 17 1 I've actually taken them all back to myself, while 2 maintaining the same service levels. So we were 3 happy about that. 4 We've reduced some of the travel and continue 5 to use teleconferencing in our meetings. We 6 appreciate our traveling Council Members. I know 7 this is not optimal, but it's a very significant 8 cost savings to us to enable telephone 9 conferencing. And then, of course, we do want to 10 continue to grow and educate ourselves, so we are 11 making use of a lot of alternative training methods 12 to keep our teams certified and up with current 13 practices. We're using free training and low-cost 14 training that's available through other agencies, 15 the Chamber of Commerce and whatnot. So we found 16 some savings there as well. 17 The net result of that has been, in our 18 discretionary expenses, a savings of approximately 19 40 percent of our administrative expense 20 discretionary funds, and that results in an overall 21 10 percent savings for our total budget. So we're 22 well within what the Legislature, Governor's 23 Office, was giving us guidance for, to try to keep 24 10 percent down. So we were successful with that. 25 And I believe, if you recall the numbers I threw FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 18 1 out before, we've been able to maintain the same 2 service levels to our customers and actually 3 increase some of the productivity as well. So I 4 think we've done a pretty good job with the limited 5 resources that we have. 6 SECRETARY SOUTH: It is a pretty 7 straightforward budget. I will take a motion to 8 approve the budget as presented. 9 SECRETARY BROWNING: So moved. 10 MR. EVANS: Second. 11 SECRETARY SOUTH: All in favor, say aye. 12 (A chorus of Ayes.) 13 SECRETARY SOUTH: Opposed? You guys still on 14 the phone? 15 MR. YANDLL: We are. I'm on mute. I said 16 aye. 17 SECRETARY SOUTH: I saw you raise your hand; 18 not to worry. Okay. Then the budget is approved. 19 All right. The next item on the agenda, we 20 are required to publish an annual report for 2009 21 and '10. Henry, if you could give us background? 22 Because that will be on our next agenda. 23 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah. I mentioned just briefly 24 before part of the follow-up that we do have, we 25 are required to issue a report annually to the FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 19 1 Governor and the Legislature. It requires two 2 specific things: the status of outsourcing in state 3 government, as well as innovative trends and 4 delivering state services. So our goals for the 5 annual report this years, as has been in the past, 6 is to continue to advocate for innovation and sound 7 business practices, to educate agencies on those 8 business practices and lessons learned, and then, 9 of course, continue the evaluation process of 10 business cases for potential savings to the state. 11 The deliverables we have for this particular 12 project are going to be an annual survey that we do 13 of the agencies, so we've already developed the 14 survey materials, survey instrument. It's out 15 being validated by professionals over at FSU to 16 make sure that we're having the right methodology 17 behind that. As soon as we get that back, we'll be 18 distributing that to the agencies and collecting 19 the data. 20 We also are beginning the research on the 21 innovative method section so ways that the state 22 can look at to change its business practices to be 23 more efficient. We have a working list but we're 24 constantly looking for new ideas, so this is where 25 we would like to engage the Members of the Council. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 20 1 If there is something that peeks your interest that 2 you think would be of value to the state, we'd be 3 happy to take that on as a research project and 4 include that in the annual report. And that may be 5 part of the discussion the Secretary will have at 6 the end of the meeting. 7 And then again, if the timeline works, our 8 next scheduled meeting after the end of the year 9 will be in July. We'll still be in construction of 10 this report, so the following meeting, which is 11 September 23rd, we have to bring you the final 12 report for ratification. Obviously, you'll be 13 involved in the process along the way. 14 SECRETARY SOUTH: Steve, do you have comments? 15 MR. EVANS: I do. In your write-up in the 16 binder here, Henry, you mention that input has been 17 received from agencies as to topics they would like 18 to have Council address. What kind -- give us a 19 feel for some of those topics that are coming up. 20 MR. GARRIGO: Sure. There is a lot on the 21 technology side, people looking to use technology 22 and outsource some of that through third-party 23 administration has been a topic that's been very 24 popular for a variety of reasons; in the healthcare 25 field, particularly, to validate and reduce fraud FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 21 1 and those kinds of things; also looking at a lot of 2 service delivery things, like food services and 3 kind of more maintenance services; people 4 re-looking at those projects, as far as should we 5 continue to do that inside or outside; I mentioned 6 the DJJ food outsourcing program. 7 The economy has impacted a lot of vendors 8 negatively unfortunately. The Secretary has been 9 keenly aware of this. And we have to be on guard 10 to see how our vendor community will continue to 11 support us. So there are a lot of agencies that 12 are now looking at possibly insourcing some of 13 their projects, again, just to keep a little bit 14 more control and make sure they're protected in 15 this downturn. 16 MR. EVANS: Are we looking at a -- do we have 17 any interest in looking at or creating a balanced 18 model of insourcing and outsourcing, something that 19 we could begin developing the intellectual talent 20 and assets internally and looking at the cost 21 effectiveness between those two? 22 MR. GARRIGO: Well, as I mentioned before, we 23 look at what I call "right sourcing," which is 24 looking at alternatives and finding out what is the 25 right solution without going in with preconceived FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 22 1 notions. We try to educate the agencies as to look 2 at, obviously, status quo, how are you delivering 3 the service today, and then looking into 4 alternatives. 5 MR. EVANS: So if I come forward to you with 6 what could otherwise be perceived as a 7 $10 million-dollar outsourcing contract or 8 opportunity, we're going down a path, but we're 9 developing skills and the knowledge to come back 10 and look at alternative recommendations as to how 11 we might be able to achieve greater savings while 12 at the same time retaining asset value or building 13 asset value. 14 MR. GARRIGO: So there is a couple things in 15 there. We're coming up with mega trends and 16 proposing those to agencies. As far as individual 17 solutions, we're not in a position to offer 18 recommendations to them individually. We don't 19 want to craft the solution for them, but we will 20 evaluate the solutions that they propose. 21 SECRETARY SOUTH: And the tools that the 22 Council provides them leads them down a path of 23 exploration, which examines both insourcing, 24 outsourcing and other activities. So I think 25 that's where you're looking at. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 23 1 MR. EVANS: Right. 2 SECRETARY SOUTH: Can you say some more about 3 that? 4 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah. Part of our training 5 model is to go in and educate them on primarily 6 what is a business case. There's a lot of folks 7 out there who don't really know that concept yet. 8 They haven't been tasked to do it. They haven't 9 been skilled up on it and, quite honestly, don't 10 have the resources for it. So what is a business 11 case? What are the components of it, how to 12 develop it? 13 And part of that is looking at alternatives. 14 So it's, again, not looking at your intuitive 15 decision but looking at a practical fact-based 16 decision-making process, which includes sourcing 17 alternatives, how they play against each other and 18 what is the right decision. Does it validate your 19 original thought, or have you discovered something 20 new? So again, the right source is what we're 21 looking at, not any particular insource or 22 outsourcing model. 23 SECRETARY SOUTH: And I'll tell you, as an 24 agency head, it gives me comfort to know that we've 25 got objective tools to be used, as opposed to FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 24 1 taking a staff's instincts on something and say, 2 "Well, that's the way we've always done it, so 3 clearly that's the way we need to continue doing 4 it." As we know, the world around us has changed 5 dramatically. We cannot assume that what we've 6 always done is the best thing to do. So as an 7 agency head, I'm very tickled to have objective 8 tools, a road map, if you will, to have the 9 questions being, you know, being broached. 10 Now, that's why it's so important that we 11 train the agency leadership, too, in this stuff, to 12 ask the questions when it comes to -- when a 13 project comes to us, to ask to see the outcome of 14 the CEG business analysis. Because at that point, 15 we know that those objective criteria have been at 16 least put on the table. 17 MR. AGRAWAL: Madam Chairwoman, if I could, 18 this is Akhil. If I could interject a comment. 19 SECRETARY SOUTH: Absolutely. 20 MR. AGRAWAL: On the annual report, there 21 seems to be a trend on or movement towards 22 private-public partnerships. Is that in the area 23 that we want to, sort of, highlight in the annual 24 report as a potential option between insource and 25 outsource? That might be advantageous for some of FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 25 1 our agencies. I know DOT is looking at it quite 2 heavily for a couple of projects, one down south in 3 particular. Is that something we want to include 4 or potentially think about including? 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: I think that would be a very 6 good idea, the concept of public-private 7 partnerships and training in that. Good input. 8 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah; definitely. I captured 9 that. And, again, if anything occurs to you along 10 that line, we'd be happy to take it on, so please 11 communicate back to the staff here. We'd be happy 12 to look into it. 13 MR. AGRAWAL: There is a group in Chicago 14 that's doing some really good work around it, so 15 I'll shoot you their contact information, do an 16 email intro. 17 MR. GARRIGO: I appreciate that. 18 SECRETARY SOUTH: Thank you. 19 MR. GARRIGO: I'll follow up with you. 20 SECRETARY SOUTH: Akhil, is the project you're 21 talking about the Turnpike project? 22 MR. AGRAWAL: I was speaking of Alligator 23 Alley. 24 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay. Let me just say to 25 you all, because, you know, that one got some press FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 26 1 this time within the context of CEG. The 2 Department of Transportation is exempt statutorily 3 from having to use CEG for its stuff. We did have 4 a Senator who believed very strongly that CEG 5 should do an analysis of that particular project. 6 I just want to say that particular project 7 would have required the CEG to have engaged outside 8 expertise on that. And we don't -- as you can see, 9 we just approved a $400,000-dollar budget. It 10 would be a really uncomfortable position for the 11 CEG to be in to be asked to do an analysis of 12 something of that high degree of technicality, that 13 we don't have in-house expertise for, without the 14 corresponding revenue or resources in order to buy 15 the talent we needed. 16 MR. EVANS: I would assume that's going to be 17 part of the topic you want to discuss at the end. 18 SECRETARY SOUTH: Yeah. 19 MR. EVANS: That's a very good point. 20 SECRETARY SOUTH: Well, I was tickled to see 21 CEG being seen as having value. It's a good thing. 22 Let's be realistic about what the limitations of 23 our scope currently is. 24 Any other input on the annual report or the 25 innovative research or innovative methods? Okay. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 27 1 Moving on, Henry, you've got a pilot project you'd 2 like us to hear about. 3 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah. Thank you. Part of what 4 we're doing internally and, again, to remain cost 5 effective as well as trying to increase our service 6 levels, is looking at additional resources and 7 alternative sourcing for staff as well. And we 8 found a great alternative to be an internship 9 program that we've spoken about at a previous 10 meeting. We've tried to formalize that and go down 11 the road. 12 We've actually piloted it internally and 13 started talking throughout the DMS agency where we 14 reside about the possibility of expanding it. So I 15 just wanted to cover a little bit of what we are 16 doing internally with this program. It is an 17 innovative method of trying to find additional 18 resources at low-cost, very skilled resources. So 19 I'll just recap it real quick. 20 The objectives that we've had for this program 21 have been to improve our overall customer service. 22 So the agency or the group that will be taking on 23 this program would have that available to them. 24 Obviously, we want to try to access quality 25 resources, and a lot of it will be project focused, FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 28 1 so these are short-term resources that will be 2 available. So people who have -- very bright 3 people that we can bring in for a short period of 4 time and get some specific work done, obviously, 5 while controlling costs. To bring a full-time 6 employee on for project work doesn't really make 7 sense. Obviously, you need to keep that person 8 around. So with that in mind, we're trying to 9 develop this program. 10 Obviously, there's benefits to all parties 11 involved. The state obviously gets some staff 12 augmentation work done. We get access to very well 13 educated people. It's very cost effective; in most 14 cases, it's free or low cost. We get some new 15 ideas. The Secretary mentioned before, the state 16 has been around a long time. You kind of fall in a 17 rut sometimes. So it's good to get new ideas, and 18 these are people on the cutting edge on some of 19 those new ideas. And then again, it does help 20 longer term with recruitment. 21 The state is in a -- all states, not just 22 Florida -- in a period of time where there's going 23 to be a bit of a brain drain going as we roll 24 through the next generation. And we need to do a 25 better job of recruiting the best and brightest and FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 29 1 bringing them into state employment, service to the 2 state, as an alternative, and make sure it's a 3 viable alternative. So this helps us with our 4 recruitment efforts as well. 5 On the intern side, obviously, they do get 6 professional experience. Working with the interns 7 that we've had internally, this is one of the 8 primary things that they're looking for: being able 9 to get some professional experience, getting 10 something on their resume that is not a retail job 11 or working lifeguard down at the country club. Not 12 that that's bad. 13 SECRETARY SOUTH: Hey, that's what I started 14 out doing. 15 MR. GARRIGO: That's where we all started. 16 SECRETARY SOUTH: I loved being a lifeguard. 17 MR. GARRIGO: Lifeguard and ice cream scooper 18 may be a little bit further down the line. But, 19 you know, participation -- 20 SECRETARY SOUTH: And popcorn into banking, 21 it's a great career path. 22 MR. GARRIGO: -- help to bridge that. And 23 this program, hopefully, will help them bridge 24 that. But this is the primary thing. And they're 25 willing to forego paid work to get that FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 30 1 professional experience. So this is primary to 2 them. Also, there is an educational requirement a 3 lot of times. They have to go out and find an 4 internship, and they run up against the wall in not 5 being able to find alternatives to fulfill this 6 requirement, so we want to make that available to 7 them as well. 8 And then, again, career opportunities; 9 introduce them to the state, allow them to network, 10 to see what working service to the state is like, 11 and hopefully, interest them in doing that. Some 12 of the educational paths are specific to that, 13 public administration and the like, but there are 14 other alternatives for people. We have a very 15 large IT department. We have very large 16 procurement staffs. We have a lot of different 17 financial programs as well that we can help people 18 recruit into the state. So it's not just public 19 administration. 20 So some of the program deliverables that we 21 have so far are put in place. We have a full list 22 of policies and procedures that are in the packet 23 of materials in the binders. We've developed a 24 process map on how to recruit, bring people in and 25 process them through. We have already reached out FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 31 1 to the local colleges here and developed a database 2 of internship coordinators so that we can reach out 3 in postings and get that to them, in 13 different 4 departments; we hope to expand that as well. 5 And then, as we've had successes in our small 6 group here at the Council on Efficient Government, 7 we have been speaking to DMS, our parent group 8 here, and they're very interested in maybe picking 9 up on some of that, bringing in some additional 10 interns in across the organization as well. So 11 we're hoping to roll that out. And if that works, 12 we should have the core to a very good, scalable 13 and repeatable program, which is our mission, that 14 we could just turn over as a turn-key operation to 15 any agency that wants to pick up on it. 16 SECRETARY SOUTH: Henry, it occurs to me that 17 we're getting ready for our next round of 18 Governor's Fellows. And we have been very 19 fortunate in the Department of Management Services 20 to have two outstanding Governor's Fellows in the 21 last couple of years who came on board with us 22 afterwards and we're very proud of them. If you 23 have a project -- and we're getting ready to apply 24 for the next round of Governor's Fellows. If you 25 have a project that you would like us to consider FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 32 1 for that fellowship, why don't you think about that 2 in terms of this? 3 MR. EVANS: I'm not familiar with the 4 Governor's Fellows. 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: The Governor's Fellow is a 6 highly competitive program that -- it's generally 7 master's level students and assigns them to the 8 Governor's agencies or the executive office for a 9 period of nine months. It is a paid fellowship and 10 the expectation -- or the Fellows are exposed to 11 the highest level of management. 12 For instance, our Fellow worked with us on our 13 strategic planning for each of our divisions. She 14 sat on our senior management meetings. She went 15 with me on policy briefings. She sat in with us 16 during very difficult strategy session on how we're 17 going to do a reduction in force. So it's very 18 real high-level executive exposure when it's done 19 properly. 20 MR. EVANS: These fellowships last how long? 21 SECRETARY SOUTH: They're nine months. And 22 these are the brightest of the brightest. They are 23 cracker jack, absolutely top-drawer thinkers. 24 MR. EVANS: With the presumption being that 25 we, then, keep them? FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 33 1 SECRETARY SOUTH: For instance, one of my 2 Fellows is now the director of our Office Supplier 3 Diversity who's had just extraordinary success in 4 the last two years in streamlining and bringing 5 efficiencies to that. 6 Kurt, have you had any Fellows? 7 SECRETARY BROWNING: We have not. But I know 8 that Highway Safety has had a couple. These are 9 students from all over the state, not just FSU or 10 Florida A&M. 11 SECRETARY SOUTH: And it's highly competitive. 12 We have to appeal to these students to come work 13 for us. You know, if we don't have a meaningful 14 project, then they pass for something that's of 15 interest. So it's -- they get to their 16 positions -- it's a very highly competitive 17 program, so they're very top-drawer candidates, and 18 then they get to shop the projects that the 19 agencies set out. They say, "Yeah, I think I'll 20 take that one," and then they interview with the 21 agencies. 22 MR. EVANS: Wow. That's terrific. 23 SECRETARY SOUTH: So anyway, it occurs to me 24 that we may want to consider if there is some way 25 to engage a Governor's Fellow in this internship FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 34 1 program to help disperse it. 2 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah. 3 SECRETARY SOUTH: So let's think about that. 4 It may not be the one that we choose at DMS, but I 5 think we should discuss it. 6 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah; absolutely. And I know 7 that DFS is also having an internship program. 8 MS. FLAGG: We started that about a year ago 9 and had wonderful success. We've had about 17 10 interns. 11 SECRETARY SOUTH: Wow. That's great. 12 MS. FLAGG: And it's really been -- 13 SECRETARY SOUTH: Let me ask, have you had a 14 chance to look at -- did you do that through 15 Henry's internship program or through your own? 16 MS. FLAGG: No; through our own. 17 SECRETARY SOUTH: It would be interesting, 18 then, to see if you would look at their documents 19 or their deliverables from this internship program 20 to see -- your input would be very valuable, I 21 think. 22 MS. FLAGG: We'd be glad to work with Henry 23 and share what we've learned. It's been a big 24 success. 25 SECRETARY SOUTH: Good. All right. Let's -- FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 35 1 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah, just in recap. There is a 2 need on both ends of the equation: the student 3 population has a lot to gain by working in an 4 internship program and, obviously, we have a lot to 5 gain from them, as the Secretary has pointed out. 6 Some prime examples of successes at DMS were Tori 7 Austin and -- 8 SECRETARY SOUTH: There is also a high degree 9 of responsibility. If you take an intern on, you 10 really need to make sure you're getting something 11 of value back. And you have to supervise them, 12 because they are unknown resources that you need to 13 manage properly. So it's a, you know -- 14 MR. EVANS: It's a tremendous responsibility. 15 SECRETARY SOUTH: It's a great opportunity. 16 It is a big responsibility. It could be risky, so 17 you have to understand risk and manage to it. But 18 the outcome, when done right, is just a fabulous 19 win-win situation. 20 Henry, credit to your staff for thinking 21 creatively on ways to bring additional value. 22 Thank you. 23 MR. GARRIGO: Thank you. 24 SECRETARY SOUTH: All right. Moving on, let's 25 go to the business case tool kit. You know, we've FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 36 1 developed some standardized processes where we 2 review business cases. And, Henry, if you could 3 just walk us through. 4 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah, definitely. Drafting on a 5 couple of the conversations we've had before on 6 what are we doing to practically get out to 7 agencies and educate them, what we have done in the 8 past, as the Secretary mentioned, is developed 9 these standard processes for reviewing business 10 cases. Then we've gone out to educate people on 11 that. We're trying to take the next step now and 12 really standardize it a little bit. 13 As we've had an inflow of business cases, we 14 found some gaps that we're trying to resolve, as 15 well as some issues with consistency. And what 16 we're hoping to achieve is to have a web-enabled 17 tool that will actually walk people through the 18 business case writing process. This consistent 19 business case submission process is really 20 important to us as we get more cases in. The back 21 and forth needs to be reduced and really shorten 22 our time window here. 23 It really improves accuracy as far as 24 submissions go. It helps us with standardization 25 so we know where to find information, so it helps FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 37 1 us in the process flow. And again, it does educate 2 them on best practices as well. So it's real 3 important that we do that. 4 The goals of this project is really to create 5 this one-stop shop, if you will, one place where 6 they can go to engage and to get through the 7 business case process. Again, a lot of individuals 8 that are tasked to do this within agencies don't 9 have the skill sets previous to this, so they 10 really need something that helps them do that. 11 We've had the static tools out there, but we've 12 done some education. We've actually engaged with 13 them and walked them through somewhat, but it's a 14 bit labor intensive, so we're trying to find a more 15 automated and effective way to do that. 16 We want to make sure we're consistent with the 17 data submissions and that they're complete. 18 Obviously, a lot of omissions happen, blank forms 19 people can skip over, so we want to control the 20 submission process a little bit more. It will 21 enhance our productivity, of course, and when it's 22 done properly, it will create a database of 23 information that we can, then, go back and do some 24 data mining on and research on. 25 So the deliverables we have so far on this one FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 38 1 are this web-enabled tool, the database that goes 2 behind it, and then the next step will be once we 3 have that all in place, to get that host. And 4 we've already engaged with DMS, our administrator 5 organization, to do that. What I'd like to show 6 you real quick is some of the work that we've done 7 already. We have the prototype already up and 8 tested. This is a couple of screen shots. This is 9 the login page. Obviously, the second here is the 10 registration page. So we walk them through, make 11 sure we capture all the right information. 12 There is the statutory guidelines that we ask 13 them to read through and accept, so there's full 14 understanding of what the requirements are. And 15 then, obviously, we go into the project summary. 16 We start collecting data. We walk them through 17 some of the more important items, like the 18 cost-benefit analysis and the risk analysis, make 19 sure we're capturing all the information; again, 20 option one, option two, option three, looking at 21 the financial piece, looking at the risk 22 assessment, public policy discussions, so really 23 capturing good complete consistent information. 24 SECRETARY SOUTH: The Secretary of State is 25 delighted. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 39 1 SECRETARY BROWNING: That's very cool. 2 MR. GARRIGO: Additionally, I would like to 3 say that those who can see the what we call "wire 4 print" or the prototype up and running here, it's 5 very complete, it's very robust, it's very good 6 looking. I'll throw in a footnote: The work that 7 was done on this was done by an intern that we had 8 in-house. It was done at zero cost to the 9 organization. And I think it's leagues ahead of 10 what we've seen any of the other groups doing right 11 now. And I think this is just a proof point to 12 both the internship program and the use of 13 automation to try to improve efficiencies. 14 MR. EVANS: And the leadership of Council 15 staff. 16 MR. GARRIGO: That would be you all. 17 SECRETARY SOUTH: Too modest, Henry. 18 MR. GARRIGO: Additional to that, another 19 web-enablement that we want to do is, through 20 conversations had with individual Council members, 21 obviously, you want to become more engaged and have 22 more visibility into what we are doing. There's 23 also a trend globally, if you will, particularly in 24 state government, in transparency. So what we're 25 trying to do is hit both of those points by FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 40 1 enabling this, a new advisory report site. 2 So we're going to create a website, also, that 3 we'll be able to post some of our final work, 4 business case submissions, as well as the advisory 5 reports that we write. When we get to the 6 situation where the Council will be engaged on 7 these larger business cases, we want to already 8 have the site up and running. We will have a 9 process for you where you guys can get the 10 information, download the information, research it, 11 collaborate with us on it. And it also goes to 12 transparency. 13 So the work that we're doing, we're posting 14 out there, there's the budget stuff that's been 15 going on, there's been the stimulus site. There is 16 a lot of ways and initiatives out there to get the 17 information out proactively, and we want to kind of 18 draft on those activities as well. 19 Our deliverables here are the website. We've 20 already got it up in test mode as well, and we've 21 started to post some test materials. We hope to 22 have the site up and running just in a couple of 23 months. Again, this was done by staff internally 24 with contributions from our interns so, again, at 25 no or low cost. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 41 1 SECRETARY SOUTH: Good job. 2 MR. YANDELL: Henry? 3 MR. GARRIGO: Yes? 4 MR. YANDELL: Henry, this is Tim. I just have 5 a question for you. First off, excellent, 6 excellent work on creating the structure there. In 7 particular, just a minor note, that "start-finish" 8 bar at the bottom is great technique, because it 9 certainly encourages people to see how far and how 10 quickly they've gotten through it. So great design 11 from that standpoint. Just one question in regard 12 to how you constructed this: You mentioned that 13 the future value of this is direction towards 14 having the ability to data mine the information 15 that's in there so that you can glean, you know, 16 best practice kind of information and also lots of 17 data out of it. 18 To that end, what kind of work did you do in 19 regard to the actual database design itself to lend 20 it to doing that, as opposed to just collecting the 21 data into a database? There are some techniques 22 and things that might be more advantageous to do 23 that than others. Have you actually done that? Or 24 are you just basically right now pulling the data 25 in and it's sitting in a database that basically FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 42 1 repeats each of these forms multiple times as the 2 data would come in? 3 MR. GARRIGO: Those are excellent questions, 4 and highly technical, and above my skill level and 5 grade pay. So I will have to -- I'll have to defer 6 to our intern, who is actually not with us today, 7 on the back end of this. But we are working with 8 the DMS IT Department, and particularly their 9 database administrator. So I'm sure consideration 10 is being given to that. I know that is your field 11 of expertise, and I would love to engage with you 12 and have our intern engage with you and follow up 13 on that. 14 SECRETARY SOUTH: Tim, would you be willing to 15 work with Henry and staff on the back end off line 16 to make sure that what you know is being 17 incorporated into this? 18 MR. YANDELL: That was indeed the point of my 19 question. 20 SECRETARY SOUTH: Great. Thank you. We 21 appreciate that. Your expertise is appreciated. 22 All right. 23 Good job, Henry. Anything else you want to 24 show us? 25 MR. GARRIGO: Any additional questions? FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 43 1 SECRETARY SOUTH: Akhil, you got any questions 2 on that? 3 MR. AGRAWAL: It looks outstanding. 4 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay. Good. 5 Henry, is the sandbox ready to play in, or can 6 the Council Members go and look at its development? 7 Or are we not opening up the doors yet? 8 MR. GARRIGO: No. The next step, actually, 9 has a cost associated with it. It's twofold. So I 10 didn't want to broach that subject here; it's 11 uncomfortable. But there's staffing needs that we 12 will have. We're trying to engage our intern, 13 possibly as OPS, to keep him interested here. So 14 I'll come to the Council for that, as well as there 15 are some hosting costs and database costs. So up 16 to this point, it's been pretty much a free ride, 17 but the next steps for implementation and access 18 are going to have some costs. The advisory report 19 site will be at no cost and that's just an 20 enablement piece. 21 SECRETARY SOUTH: Well, let me just tell you 22 this happens to be just the right time to bring up 23 money issues as I'm negotiating your funding 24 stream. So this would be a very good time to let 25 me know what that might be. So if you'll come off FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 44 1 line and come tell me a ballpark number while I'm 2 in the process of negotiations. 3 MR. GARRIGO: I absolutely will. Obviously, 4 we, and I personally, keep a very close eye on the 5 expenses and have been as frugal as possible. 6 SECRETARY SOUTH: Yes, you have. 7 MR. GARRIGO: But this is a point where we 8 will have to make an investment. 9 SECRETARY SOUTH: And just to let the Council 10 Members know, we are in the process of 11 renegotiating the MyFloridaMarketPlace contract, 12 and the fee for MyFloridaMarketPlace is what funds 13 the Council for Efficient Government. So let me 14 know what you need. 15 We're also, by the way, renegotiating and 16 looking at contract extensions on the People First 17 contract. So that was something this Council 18 looked at carefully, both of those things. And as 19 a result of OPPAGA analysis by outside sources, we 20 decided to go forward with those renegotiations. 21 So good timing, Henry. 22 MR. YANDELL: Madam Chair? 23 SECRETARY SOUTH: Yes, sir. 24 MR. YANDELL: Also. Just on those issues in 25 terms of costs for hosting the database pieces and FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 45 1 all of that, Henry, if you'll give me some 2 information on what your requirements are there, I 3 can certainly give you some good things to think 4 about from a commercial standpoint, to look at that 5 as well. And there may be ways to do this for, you 6 know, at or next to nothing, depending on what the 7 security requirements are and all that. So if 8 you'll let me know that, I'll see if I can help 9 there as well. 10 SECRETARY SOUTH: We like the sound of that 11 money side. Thank you. Okay. 12 MR. GARRIGO: Yes. Thank you very much. 13 SECRETARY SOUTH: All right. The last item 14 that's on our agenda is the Davis Productivity 15 Awards. I'm very pleased to announce that we, the 16 Council on Efficient Government, has been awarded a 17 2009 Prudential Davis Productivity Award. The 18 Council's being recognized with a plaque in the 19 team category for the design and implementation of 20 a robust business case process for outsourcing 21 state projects. The Council team will be awarded a 22 plaque in June during the awards luncheon, which I 23 regret to say I had looked so forward to going and 24 my business calendar changed yesterday that 25 requires me to be out of town. So our chief of FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 46 1 staff will be attending. 2 But again, the 2009 awards competition 3 attracted 568 nominations for innovations in 4 productivity improvements where $342 million 5 dollars in cost savings, cost avoidances, increased 6 revenue for the state government. Over the past 19 7 years, award winners have posted a total of 8 $3.6 billion in added value towards taxpayers and 9 businesses. The Prudential Davis Productivity 10 Award has been publicly recognized and rewarded 11 state employees and work units whose work 12 significantly, immeasurably increases productivity 13 and promotes innovation to improve the delivery of 14 state services and has saved money for Florida 15 taxpayers and businesses. 16 And, of course, it is a great job of TaxWatch. 17 Steve, your organization has much to be proud of in 18 the heralding of this particular award. Do you 19 want to say something about that? 20 MR. EVANS: I would; yes. Much to the thanks 21 of the Davis family, 25 years ago when this program 22 started, I had the opportunity to chair this 23 organization for several years. And the creativity 24 and ingenuity that comes out of the state is 25 unbelievable if given the proper light and a proper FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 47 1 opportunity. The big key right now is how we 2 replicate it, which is a key area where I think 3 Council has a tremendous opportunity, because you 4 start capturing this information and looking for 5 ways to take these very unique cost-saving ideas 6 and replicate them across agencies. 7 So congratulations. Pre-congratulations. I 8 know you have to show up first to get the plaque. 9 MR. GARRIGO: We do. We do. 10 SECRETARY SOUTH: And I have a feeling the 11 internship program is a productivity award in the 12 making. 13 So let's move right into an item that's not on 14 the agenda but is something I have been wanting to 15 talk with you about. I can't do that except for in 16 a public meeting, so here we are, public meeting. 17 Let's talk about it. I know Akhil and Tim and 18 everybody here on the Council has a great deal of 19 treasure and talent, and I know you want to use it. 20 I know that because you've agreed to serve on this 21 Council. I know that you have ideas. We have 22 really been constrained, as a Council, how we 23 capture and do that. 24 I'd like to discuss ideas for how we would 25 suggest the Legislature adjust the scope of the FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 48 1 Council to respond to the current market 2 conditions. What would you see as something that 3 we should ask for the authority to do and then 4 subsequent funding to support? What do you think 5 are some of the most important items or things that 6 we could do? This would be the time for everybody 7 just to jump right in and throw out your ideas. 8 Steve, you've already kind of said you'd be 9 interested in seeing the CEG have a role in 10 replicating the Davis Productivity Awards. 11 MR. EVANS: Absolutely. There is a letter 12 that went -- this is something the Governor is very 13 focused on, as is Alex and her staff, and, Kurt, 14 you may be as well, in terms of the replication of 15 these cost-savings ideas coming out of the 16 Prudential DPA Program. And there's significant 17 savings to be achieved, but it needs a vehicle to 18 keep the light on it and to be able to also produce 19 the process and the measurable outcomes, to make 20 sure that what we're trying to replicate has 21 relevance in each of the state agencies. It's one 22 thing just to say it needs to be replicated. It's 23 another thing to understand the characteristics of 24 each agency and what modifications need to be made. 25 SECRETARY SOUTH: Isn't part of the award FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 49 1 process, the replicability of it? Is that a word? 2 MR. EVANS: It is; it is. But there needs to 3 be, like anything, there needs to be accountability 4 and ownership to ensure that the replication 5 continues and that the advantages back to the state 6 are realized. 7 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay. What are your 8 thoughts, Council Members, on that, as an effort to 9 expand the mission of the CEG? Because what I see 10 doing is starting work this summer in talking to 11 members of the Legislature, obviously the Governor, 12 about the role of CEG and aligning us to be more 13 meaningful in the coming years. 14 MR. YANDELL: I think that's certainly valid 15 and certainly makes great use of what we're trying 16 to do. We're trying to capture a bunch of, for 17 want of a better term, "intellectual property" 18 about best practices and the ability to go deliver 19 those best practices to more and more people. The 20 other thing I think that needs to be considered is 21 that when we began this process, when the Council 22 was created, there were a number of large projects 23 that exceeded the budgetary threshold, or the 24 statutory threshold that the Council was charged 25 with dealing with, and also dealing with after the FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 50 1 fact, as opposed to, you know, kind of before the 2 fact. We're, in some cases, dealing with things 3 well after we could have had a positive impact on 4 how procurements went forward and even to the 5 actual structure of what people were looking for. 6 And one of the things that I've talked before 7 about is that, given the state of the economy, 8 potentially lowering the threshold of items that we 9 have some degree of responsibility for to reflect 10 current economic trends, where it was $10 million 11 dollars before, maybe looking at lowering that 12 threshold a bit gets us more involvement. But the 13 other thing I was hoping that we would be able to 14 do at some point, each time we have something that 15 comes in front of us, I think we all sort of chafe 16 and say, "Wow, you know, if we had the opportunity 17 to consider this maybe a bit earlier in that 18 process, we could have had a positive impact." 19 So as you mentioned, there's a lot of brain 20 power on this committee and extremely powerful 21 people in the state. And having some ability to 22 engage earlier in that process where agencies are 23 looking to fund or create structure around 24 something, in particular, the idea being 25 encouraging cross-disciplinary things where one FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 51 1 department is looking for something that another 2 one may be doing, if we can act as a catalyst for 3 that, that would be helpful. But I'd say lower the 4 threshold and get us involved in a more proactive 5 way with things before it actually gets to funding. 6 SECRETARY SOUTH: Tim, do you have a threshold 7 you're thinking of? 8 MR. YANDELL: Well, I mean, I don't know the 9 actual structure that created the 10 $10 million-dollar threshold, but I think if you go 11 back and looked at where the state stood at the 12 point the Legislature was enacted and what sorts of 13 things were on the plate at that point, and you 14 look at it today based on the reductions that have 15 recently been made and the personnel requirements 16 that have changed, I think a reasonable number 17 could potentially be interpolated from that. If 18 not cut it in half as a ballpark. I don't know if 19 that's the right number or not, but certainly we're 20 not being involved in what we're charged to be 21 doing for, so we're struggling to find things to be 22 relevant. 23 And applause and kudos to Henry's staff and 24 everybody involved; a phenomenal job of doing that. 25 But we're not getting the bang for what we were FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 52 1 chartered to go do. And I would rather lower that 2 and maybe get the bang out of it and really bring 3 meaningful help. So maybe cut it in half as a 4 guess. 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay. Other thoughts? 6 MR. AGRAWAL: Madam Chair, this is Akhil. I 7 think -- and I agree with everything that Tim just 8 said. I think it's more fundamental than that in 9 terms of proactively -- I mean, I think the 10 threshold, I have absolutely no issue and agree 11 with that. But my concern is that we are counting 12 on the limited view of the people that are in the 13 agencies today to determine what they should 14 consider for an outsource. 15 I think there is a more fundamental question, 16 whether we should be actively looking for things 17 that should be either outsourced or -- I think 18 given the state of the economy, I think outsource 19 is probably less of an issue than private-public 20 partnerships are -- and then, proactively bringing 21 those ideas to those agencies instead of having the 22 agencies do the initiation. 23 So I'm not convinced that -- and I don't know 24 how you incorporate that into a scope document, I'm 25 not convinced that lowering the threshold is FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 53 1 exactly going to accomplish what we need to 2 accomplish on behalf of the taxpayers of the state, 3 which is let's look at best practices and where we 4 should -- where is more efficient for the 5 government to outsource. Those should be 6 considered objectively by the various agencies. 7 And I don't know how we make that jump to making a 8 recommendation to them, as to, "Here is areas that 9 you might want to consider looking at" versus 10 waiting for them to generate the case back to us. 11 SECRETARY SOUTH: Steve? 12 MR. EVANS: Yeah. Akhil, very good point. 13 Let me add on to that if I could. I look at our 14 name, I look at our mission, I look at all that you 15 guys achieved here over the last year-and-a-half to 16 two years. In the history of our government, both 17 nationally and at the state, we've never been faced 18 with a requirement for true innovation more than we 19 are today. You guys are, this staff is, in a 20 pivotal point. 21 To the issue of accountability and education, 22 our mandate is to advocate, educate and evaluate. 23 We need to find out -- we're getting to a point 24 where we really ought to think about taking on a 25 mission of innovation, of educating on innovation. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 54 1 There are a lot of tremendously innovative ideas 2 that are going on out there in terms of 3 transforming governmental agencies around the 4 country. And do we want to take on the role of 5 being a pipeline of that, to try and steal new 6 ideas coming out of these agencies that may not see 7 some of those opportunities? 8 SECRETARY SOUTH: All right. So I think 9 about -- my mind goes straight to operations. It's 10 just, you know, I'm wondering -- 11 MR. EVANS: You invited us to think outside 12 the box. 13 SECRETARY SOUTH: Absolutely; that's exactly 14 right. And I'm wondering if there is a role of the 15 Council to act as a think-tank. I belong to 16 something called the World Future Society that 17 gives sometimes outlandish projects, outlandish 18 thoughts you would never consider. But the act of 19 even reading it, thinking about it clicks and makes 20 you consider something else. I'm wondering if the 21 CEG could serve as a role of a click, you know, to 22 help click new ideas, or a way to bring agency 23 staff in and facilitate an innovation sessions. 24 You know, there's actually skill sets around 25 developing innovation. It's not just always waking FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 55 1 up in the middle of a nap with a great idea. It's, 2 you know, it's about preparing the mind and 3 preparing the tools to do that. So again, I'm just 4 rambling and brainstorming, too. I don't have 5 any -- 6 MS. FLAGG: I was just listening to you, 7 because my mind went to operational too. And I was 8 thinking this sounded like this group could be like 9 a central clearing house, you might say, for 10 innovations. I know from my own agency, I think it 11 would have been very helpful to consult with you. 12 We're looking at bringing in best practices to many 13 of our business processes, and it would have been 14 very helpful to come to this group to get some 15 ideas on, you know, what we could do better and, 16 you know, generate some ideas. 17 SECRETARY SOUTH: I like clearing house better 18 than think-tank. 19 MR. EVANS: To do that, it requires us to be 20 able to look outside our own box. It requires us 21 to put some fundamental responsibility on our backs 22 to be able to bring knowledge and expertise outside 23 of what we just see within the State of Florida. 24 MS. FLAGG: I know we get locked into this is, 25 you know, the way it's always been done, and FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 56 1 sometimes it's very hard to see outside of that. 2 SECRETARY BROWNING: But I think a lot of 3 that, though, is driven by budgets. And I think we 4 are officially getting hemmed in on the fact that 5 we only have this much money so we really can't be 6 too innovative. And I totally disagree with that 7 idea. 8 The whole business case -- I know when Henry 9 came by to visit with me a couple months back now, 10 we talked about business case. And that whole 11 process fascinates me. Because I will tell you 12 quite honestly, the Department of State has not 13 engaged in any of the business case activities. We 14 just -- 15 SECRETARY SOUTH: Do you spend money? 16 SECRETARY BROWNING: Yeah, we spend money. 17 But again, what happens is -- what's happened to us 18 is from the time I entered the door, the same thing 19 when you entered the door, is that we have been 20 moving at such a pace just keeping our agency 21 together. An agency my size does not have a lot of 22 staff that we can throw towards business case. 23 That's why I'm so interested in the online piece. 24 And I guess the point that I had made was I'm 25 not certain, exactly, I'm not sure where the FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 57 1 business case model fits in, as I use the word 2 "requirement," for state agencies to participate in 3 business case modeling at a certain threshold. 4 There might be a legal requirement, but are we 5 really policing that in the sense that -- 6 SECRETARY SOUTH: We're not. 7 SECRETARY BROWNING: -- is that, you know, 8 okay, you're going to let a contract out for X 9 millions of dollars and you're required by statute 10 to do a business case through CEG. And, you know, 11 some are going, "Well, fine; whatever," you know, 12 and then going off and doing it. Why? Because 13 it's comfortable, it's fast. And really, there 14 might be considerable savings out there if someone 15 objectively looks at this and says, "You know what? 16 You've got it all wrong." Not necessarily all 17 wrong but -- 18 SECRETARY SOUTH: Or "Have you considered 19 this?" 20 SECRETARY BROWNING: "Have you considered 21 this?" 22 SECRETARY SOUTH: Gently suggesting, "Have you 23 considered this?" 24 SECRETARY BROWNING: That's right. And I 25 guess one of the notes I made was, maybe as the FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 58 1 Secretary, maybe at one of our agency heads, as I 2 have done at our electronic records management 3 materials, is once again putting the business case 4 piece back on the plate. I also think that you 5 have to have buy-in from what I call top 6 management. I think that the key policymakers, and 7 I would include at the risk of the Governor, 8 Lieutenant Governor, I think the Deputy Chiefs, 9 agency heads, I think they need to understand the 10 value in, number one, what the Council does, but 11 also, even drilling down even more, is the value of 12 why we need to do the business case models. And 13 really make it an expectation that really, it's 14 like all the other rules and regulations that I've 15 had to deal with since coming to Tallahassee, which 16 is I scratch my head and say, why are we doing 17 this? But there's a purpose for doing it. 18 And so unless someone is there to hold the 19 agency's feet to the fire, so to speak, and saying, 20 you know, you really need to look at a business 21 case. Look at the business case. There might be 22 some other way of doing something out there that 23 you want to do for a lot less money or may be more 24 innovative, technologically speaking. 25 MR. YANDELL: Linda? FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 59 1 SECRETARY SOUTH: Yes. Go ahead, Tim. 2 MR. YANDLL: The other thing that I was going 3 to suggest, those are all absolutely excellent 4 well-founded comments. You're bringing up the 5 technology piece of this, and one of the things 6 that I was kind of concerned with is that I suspect 7 there's still massive duplication of effort 8 interdepartmentally where one department does 9 something that potentially is a reusable component 10 that another department could also make use of. 11 And in addition to just this innovation, if 12 you expand that to become almost a technology 13 clearing house, even though there's probably an 14 agency at the state level that's doing this, I know 15 that based on the requirements for compliance for 16 some of the three big programs that we've looked 17 at, all departments don't operate the same way. 18 And if we could be a positive force for change in 19 terms of exchanging, here's what we've created in 20 this department from a technology standpoint, that 21 DJJ might have a cool thing that they've created 22 that another department could go use or someone 23 could potentially use a model that we just created 24 for this interning program or something else, put 25 it all online, you're going to save the state FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 60 1 thousands and millions of dollars by doing that in 2 development that doesn't have to happen 3 interdepartmentally. And those are innovations as 4 well. 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: Good point. Steve? 6 MR. EVANS: I was just going to bring up the 7 point I concur with some of the Secretary's 8 comments. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was a 9 very good point. Didn't DOC make it mandatory that 10 before any business case went forward, that 11 everybody had to go through this training? Or am I 12 imagining that? 13 SECRETARY SOUTH: Was it DOC or DJJ? 14 MR. GARRIGO: If I might, DJJ has already 15 instituted that informally, but DOC just recently, 16 I believe, has integrated it as an informal step in 17 their process. 18 SECRETARY SOUTH: That's great. 19 MR. EVANS: Okay. Because I totally agree 20 with what Kurt was saying. It sounds like we 21 already have one where they understand what you're 22 doing, they believe in it and there's some level of 23 accountability to force them to take that next 24 step. 25 SECRETARY SOUTH: Actually, one of the FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 61 1 business case studies resulted in them insourcing 2 their food services, too. 3 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah. And looking 4 interdepartmentally is important. Secretary 5 Browning is modestly not saying your group was 6 looking at a case that we had to outsource credit 7 card processing service. But they found a way to 8 work with another agency, the Department of 9 Financial Services, to leverage on their processes 10 already. So that's a business case that, through 11 that process of evaluation, have come up with a 12 solution that actually will reduce redundancies, 13 will be more efficient and is a better solution. 14 MR. EVANS: Now, is there a spot on our 15 website where we're articulating and capturing 16 those best practices -- 17 MR. GARRIGO: We don't -- 18 MR. EVANS: -- and that creative, innovative 19 thinking that's going on? 20 MR. GARRIGO: Florida Tax Watch does. The 21 Davis Productivity Awards, they have that site -- 22 throw a plug in there -- but we haven't yet. We'd 23 like to. Part of the FTP site, the transfer site 24 that we have, is we'll be able to post our advisory 25 reports. And through the tool kit, business case FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 62 1 tool kit, we'll be able to have the database of 2 projects that are out there that we can, then, do 3 some analysis on. 4 SECRETARY BROWNING: Secretary, if I may? 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: Uh-huh. 6 SECRETARY BROWNING: You know, we do an awful 7 lot of different things in state government, and we 8 require our agencies to do a lot of things. And I 9 don't want to be dictatorial about this, but, you 10 know, I think, as just a minimal thing, is maybe 11 getting state agencies required to go through the 12 business case training. I think at a minimal. I 13 think that the economics of what we're talking 14 about, where we are today with -- you know, like I 15 said, ever since I walked in the door, we've been 16 cutting budgets. We've been having to find a way 17 to continue to do the business we're doing with 18 fewer people, better ways of doing it or more 19 efficient ways of doing it. 20 And I'm -- maybe it's time that the Governor 21 directs his agency heads to attend business case, 22 requires them, I mean, requires the agencies to do 23 this, not a case-by-case. And I don't want to put 24 more work on Council staff, but, you know, I'm just 25 thinking if we're in the predicament that we're in FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 63 1 and we have the potential of savings dollars, then 2 why not? I mean, how long is the training, Henry? 3 MR. GARRIGO: We actually have two. We have a 4 one-hour and we have a three, four-hour. 5 SECRETARY BROWNING: Okay. Come on. I mean, 6 so let's talk about taking a half a day, meeting 7 collectively some place. For that matter, we can 8 host you at the R.A. Gray Building in the 9 auditorium. We can host, I'm sure, out here at the 10 Easley Center. But make it a priority. 11 SECRETARY SOUTH: So we can have the agency 12 heads, the chiefs of staff, and the chief 13 procurement officer, chief administrative officer 14 from the agencies. 15 SECRETARY BROWNING: At a minimal. And I 16 think maybe, depending on what the content of the 17 training is, but get even more, I guess, deeper 18 into your procurement staff. 19 SECRETARY SOUTH: Well, there are notable 20 agencies who have recognized the value of the CEG 21 staff and have done a great deal of training. The 22 Department of Environmental Protection has had 23 close to 100 people trained. 24 MR. GARRIGO: Over that. 25 SECRETARY SOUTH: Over 100? FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 64 1 SECRETARY BROWNING: Well, and I would even 2 suggest, Secretary, that you talk to the DJJs, the 3 DOCs of the world, and as part of the training, 4 since everyone's going to be in the same room, let 5 them give testimonials -- 6 SECRETARY SOUTH: That's a good idea. 7 SECRETARY BROWNING: -- about the benefits of 8 the case studies. 9 SECRETARY SOUTH: We can do that. 10 SECRETARY BROWNING: I mean, it's one thing to 11 hear, I'll use, forgive my analogy, but an academic 12 stand up there and say one thing. But it's another 13 thing to hear a practitioner stand up there and 14 say, "Boy, am I glad we did this because this is 15 what it saved us. This is what it's caused us to 16 do." Not so much -- I'm sure the cost savings, but 17 it's also, "This is what it's caused us to do. 18 It's caused us to rethink the way we do our 19 business. It's caused us to change the way we 20 think. It's changed -- it's caused us to look at 21 the way that we staff." I just think that -- and I 22 think something like that would have to come, 23 probably -- and I think it's your insistence 24 because your access to management. 25 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay. I think we can do FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 65 1 that. I just had a thought I didn't want to lose, 2 so let me just jump in here real quick. 3 Akhil, you said something about wanting to 4 find ways to increase public-private partnerships 5 or to find ways to bring public-private 6 partnerships to the agencies. So Henry, is there 7 anything in the business case analysis that asks 8 for a description of initiatives in the marketplace 9 on private public-private partnerships? 10 MR. GARRIGO: We don't ask them to look at 11 anything in particular. We ask them to look at 12 three options, so they can kind of choose their own 13 where they want it. 14 SECRETARY SOUTH: Could we ask in the business 15 case to demonstrate research into public-private 16 partnership opportunities? 17 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah; we definitely can include 18 that. 19 SECRETARY SOUTH: All right. That would be at 20 a minimum, but asking the question kind of enforces 21 it. Because Akhil, I'm just -- I'm thinking 22 through operation how we, as a Council, would take 23 public-private partnerships to an agency. And 24 frankly, that's the business of the public, the 25 private side, to bring their innovative ideas to FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 66 1 the agencies. And at least in Department of 2 Management Services, we have a pretty clear conduit 3 of that in the lobbying community to bring great 4 ideas forward. 5 MR. EVANS: Also through Governing Magazine 6 you have -- 7 SECRETARY SOUTH: There's that, too. 8 MR. EVANS: -- there is a tremendous resource 9 of public-private partnerships that are very 10 public. 11 MR. AGRAWAL: Madam Chair, if I could expand a 12 little bit. There's a whole world out there of 13 information. Kennedy School of Business -- excuse 14 me, Kennedy School of Government runs a whole 15 series of workshops where they bring from various 16 state governments, local governments, best 17 practices of industry solutions where things have 18 worked for other people. 19 SECRETARY SOUTH: Right. 20 MR. AGRAWAL: And what I meant was, and I 21 don't mean this in a bad way, but Tallahassee seems 22 to -- tends to be a little bit insular; right? 23 SECRETARY SOUTH: You think? 24 MR. AGRAWAL: Just a touch. And I don't mean 25 that in a bad way, but there is a whole world of FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 67 1 ideas out there, other than what are necessarily 2 visible to somebody that is a dedicated leader in 3 our state government that is running their 4 organization effectively. But there is a whole 5 world of other possibilities out there that they 6 don't know about. 7 And I don't know that there's anybody in state 8 government that is looking outside of Florida state 9 government to, maybe, what's happening in the rest 10 of the country, what's happening from academia, of 11 things that might be appropriate to consider. So 12 rather than waiting for a vendor to bring the idea 13 forward, maybe there's an opportunity for us to 14 just ask the question. And I don't think it needs 15 to be a ton of research, but there are 16 organizations that are compiling this information. 17 While we were on the phone, I just did a quick 18 Google search on it, and there's a fair amount of 19 information out there. And I just used Kennedy 20 School of Government as a place to look. There's a 21 whole convergence of things that have been 22 successful that are documented that are available 23 for us to say, would this work for our state 24 government. I mean, I just want to raise the 25 question to somebody that may not even be aware FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 68 1 that it's going on. 2 SECRETARY SOUTH: Good point. I think we need 3 to find a way to stimulate that type of discussion. 4 And, at a minimum, I want the CEG staff to 5 incorporate demonstrated research into 6 public-private partnerships into the business case 7 analysis. So that's a start, and we need to find 8 other ways to do that. 9 Let me kind of summarize what I think I've 10 been hearing, because I would like to go ahead and 11 get started on talking to key stakeholders about 12 changing the mission of CEG in the next Legislative 13 session. And as we understand, start now to get 14 any traction for that. So I hear three areas that 15 we would like to see CEG expand: Number one is the 16 replication of the Davis Productivity Awards. The 17 second is to lower the threshold for Council review 18 to -- I'm going to plug in $5 million for now. 19 I'll research that and see what that might be, 20 because we also have to make sure we don't 21 overwhelm the Council with -- you know, you all 22 have day jobs. And then the third being that we 23 advocate that the CEG changes its mission to being 24 the office of innovation for the state. 25 And what I see with that is that we would have FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 69 1 a staff member on the CEG who is skilled in working 2 with groups to stimulate innovation, people who 3 have experience in workshopping innovation, and 4 that that becomes a resource for all state agencies 5 so when an agency identifies a problem, that it 6 uses the Office of Efficient Government kind of as 7 a consultant to go through the innovation process. 8 So what are your thoughts on those three 9 things to try to advocate for? 10 MR. EVANS: I think that sounds good. 11 MR. YANDLL: It sounds like a perfect capture 12 of what we just talked about. 13 MR. AGRAWAL: Great, great summary. 14 SECRETARY SOUTH: Henry? 15 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah. I just had captured a 16 fourth from Secretary Browning on the education 17 piece. 18 SECRETARY SOUTH: Oh, yeah. We don't need 19 statutory authority to do that. We'll just go 20 right ahead and do that. That's an action. We'll 21 take that up. 22 MS. FLAGG: I just wanted to ask one thing, 23 too, about the group looking at duplicative 24 processes across agencies. Would that be in place 25 for this group? Because I think from there, cost FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 70 1 savings would, of course, come from that. And that 2 could be something that could be sold to the 3 Legislature for certain, because I know we're going 4 to be more -- 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: How do you see that working, 6 actually? 7 MS. FLAGG: Well, I don't know. I know that 8 we do some things that I think Department of 9 Revenue does. And if we could -- 10 SECRETARY SOUTH: Here's what I'm hoping will 11 follow, because -- and I just want to just give you 12 editorial comment from -- as a Secretary of 13 Department of Management Services, our job is to 14 provide shared services to all the agencies. And I 15 will tell you that's a very difficult thing to do, 16 as agencies become protective when DMS comes 17 knocking on the door and say, "We can be such an 18 asset to you." I am a little worried that when CEG 19 comes knocking on the door, saying, "We want to 20 consolidate your processes," that that suddenly 21 takes CEG out of the consultant role and more into 22 people start throwing up defenses against CEG. 23 So that's just homegrown concern, based on my 24 two-and-a-half years here now. So I think that if 25 we are an innovation office, number one, and two, FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 71 1 if we replicate productivity activities, then I 2 think that we can start coming to that end. And 3 plus, you know, the agencies really do know what 4 they're duplicating and they do it on purpose 5 sometimes. But I think that there's a mindset in 6 this administration, that I've seen a shift in, 7 that we're seeing those things start to be 8 addressed. 9 For example, the Council on Children's 10 Services was talking with me yesterday about six 11 agencies trying to get together and consolidate a 12 database of services that are delivered to 13 children. And, you know, each time they touch an 14 agency, they have to go through another intake. So 15 they know they've got duplication and replication 16 of those things. The answer is not easy. But 17 there are sitting and talking about that. I think 18 that's happening more now than I have seen it. 19 So while I appreciate that thought, I think it 20 might be premature and may torpedo some of our 21 other efforts. And I welcome dissenting points of 22 view. I just offer it from my experience as the 23 shared services agency. We're not always welcome 24 with opened arms as one might think, all savings 25 aside. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 72 1 MR. EVANS: I would offer as a starting point 2 to take a look at the top ten adaptables that have 3 been published and just use that as your test. 4 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay. That's a good point. 5 Are they ranked ten, the adaptables? 6 MR. EVANS: They're not ranked one through 7 ten. They're just the top ten identifiers. 8 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay; good. All right. 9 Well then, Akhil or Tim, do you have any 10 additional input on that? 11 MR. YANDELL: No. It sounds good. I actually 12 have a question. Are you going to summarize that 13 back? Do you want us to reach out to folks or do 14 you want to take first cut and -- 15 SECRETARY SOUTH: Let me have staff work on 16 getting me a white paper on this. Let me shop it 17 in the Governor's Office first and get clearance 18 from there, and then we'll push it out. And then 19 you all can -- we'll get some roles for you all to 20 do in that area. And then we should have a united 21 message. 22 SECRETARY BROWNING: Can I just raise one 23 other point? And that was, I guess, and I don't 24 know where this fits in, but the communications 25 piece. I think there's a lot of good stuff that FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 73 1 comes out of this Council, but is it being 2 communicated? 3 SECRETARY SOUTH: No, it's not; not well. 4 SECRETARY BROWNING: And I think that goes a 5 long way to the bigger picture, and that is getting 6 the Legislature to -- I mean, why would the 7 Legislature want to expand the role of the CEG if, 8 number one, most of them don't even know what the 9 CEG is, and secondly, they don't know what we 10 do? So maybe the communications component piece as 11 well. 12 SECRETARY SOUTH: Let me see if I can have Dan 13 with DMS to do some of that. 14 SECRETARY BROWNING: And I will help. 15 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay. Put Kurt down for 16 time and money. 17 MR. GARRIGO: We have some -- we've actually 18 produced some collateral materials that will help 19 in your conversations. We have a brochure; we have 20 a score card. 21 SECRETARY SOUTH: Yeah. We probably need to 22 do an organized -- 23 MR. GARRIGO: Yeah. It's, again, low cost, 24 easy-entry stuff. But if we want to expand on 25 them, we have to -- FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 74 1 MR. EVANS: If I could offer one thing. 2 SECRETARY SOUTH: Yes. 3 MR. EVANS: From what I understand, you have 4 more than enough -- you've earned the right. You 5 have more than enough validation and verification 6 from agencies who know who you are, what you've 7 done, what you've helped them achieve. It's not a 8 matter of taking credit. It's a matter of 9 participating as a team if they're willing. And 10 it's better to hear it from them than it is you. 11 SECRETARY SOUTH: Good point. And you know, 12 we now have enough maturity under our belt and 13 enough solid experience that we can make that 14 happen. 15 Did we just lose somebody? Tim, are you still 16 there. 17 MR. YANDELL: I got booted off, but I came 18 back. 19 SECRETARY SOUTH: Okay; good to see you. All 20 right. 21 Thank you for your discussion on this. We 22 will get cracking on this. Look for stuff 23 individually. We'll be working with staff on this. 24 And if you have additional ideas that have been 25 stimulated as a result of this discussion, please FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 75 1 let Henry know. And otherwise, we're going to go 2 through with these three key points. We're going 3 to increase our education of agency heads, 4 according to Kurt's suggestion, which I think is 5 very valid. We're going to look at ways of using 6 DMS and State's communication departments to help 7 brand and push our brand out, to talk about the 8 fine work that's being done. 9 MR. GARRIGO: And if I might, as I alluded to 10 before, we have a section in our annual report that 11 talks specifically to innovative methods. It would 12 be, potentially, a good starting point for some of 13 these good ideas to plant the seeds there. That is 14 published in early part of next year, so it would 15 be just before the Legislature process begins in 16 October. So if we have some good innovative ideas, 17 we can get staff working on the research and get 18 those seeds planted now. 19 I think it is a bit of a top down, that, you 20 know, new ideas, innovation equates to change and 21 sometimes, change is painful and you're forced to 22 do it. I think things like energy efficiency and 23 the green initiatives that the Governor is starting 24 to roll out, kind of has the tops down. When there 25 is a good idea, it's kind of forced change at some FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 76 1 point. But eventually, people see it and I think 2 every agency is starting to see the light of that 3 particular initiative and say, "Hey, this is 4 actually a good idea." So if we can be that idea 5 generation house and get some top-level support, I 6 don't think it's going to be that hard. 7 MR. EVANS: The key is -- I'll just offer 8 this. We want to make sure we don't become the 9 focal point for every vendor who thinks that you're 10 the gateway to every agency. 11 SECRETARY SOUTH: Exactly. 12 MR. EVANS: That's very, very important. 13 There are a lot of -- right now, there's nothing 14 more important in any state government than two 15 things: How to pare back on budgets and how to 16 create revenue generation partnerships. And every 17 vendor out there is working with state agencies and 18 governments across the country on how we can do 19 those things: create an economic development engine 20 that creates more efficient government and at the 21 same time generates revenues and increase services. 22 So we've just got to watch that. 23 SECRETARY SOUTH: All right. Are there any -- 24 MR. YANDELL: The only other -- 25 SECRETARY SOUTH: Yes; go ahead, Tim. FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 77 1 MR. YANDELL: Just one other quick comment. 2 If you're about changing the mission, I think you 3 potentially want to think about suggesting 4 something that incorporates a possible name change 5 and refers to innovation in the name of the 6 organization. To Mr. Browning's comment about the 7 visibility of the group, the term "innovation" 8 coupled with "efficiency", maybe a name change is 9 in the cards. 10 SECRETARY SOUTH: Good point. We'll give this 11 to our communications smarty pants and let them 12 figure out some of it. That's a good point. 13 MS. FLAGG: I like that. 14 SECRETARY SOUTH: All right. Any other 15 comments? 16 MR. GARRIGO: Nobody likes our name? 17 MR. EVANS: One thing that's interesting is 18 what we're evolving to is offering a service that's 19 helping the state migrate from a year-to-year 20 process of cost-cutting to reengineering. 21 SECRETARY SOUTH: And the pain we've just all 22 gone through, we've had to do this, and we should 23 capture this momentum as a result of it and drive 24 the innovation for what it's intended to do. And 25 there were a lot of things that the Tax Watch FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 78 1 brought forward as good ideas that didn't make it. 2 You know, just -- we don't need to let some of 3 those things go by the way side. 4 MR. EVANS: We'll get there. 5 SECRETARY SOUTH: Yes, we will all get there. 6 All right. If I hear no other interesting business 7 to discuss, I'm going to entertain a motion to 8 adjourn. 9 SECRETARY BROWNING: So moved. 10 MR. EVANS: Second. 11 SECRETARY SOUTH: All right. Thank you all. 12 Akhil and Tim, for your time on the phone and for 13 your valuable input and thank you, Council Members. 14 MR. EVANS: Tim, Akhil, good to hear you. 15 SECRETARY SOUTH: See you all next time. 16 Thank you. 17 (Whereupon, the meeting was concluded at 11:23 18 a.m.) 19 * * * 20 21 22 23 24 25 FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491 79 1 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER 2 3 4 5 I, LISA A. BABCOCK, do hereby certify that I 6 was authorized to and did report the foregoing 7 proceedings, and that the transcript, pages 1 through 8 78, is a true and correct record of my stenographic 9 notes. 10 11 Dated this 26th day of May, 2009 at 12 Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. 13 14 ____________________________ 15 LISA A. BABCOCK 16 Court Reporter 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 FOR THE RECORD REPORTING TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 850.222.5491