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Albany, NY - The University at Albany's Center for Technology in Government (CTG) has received a two-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), to assemble a multidisciplinary team of researchers to examine government information integration projects. The research will develop a series of models to help researchers and government professionals better understand the social and technical processes that make up cross-organizational integration initiatives. 

The study, Modeling Information Integration Initiatives, is funded by NSF's Information Technology Research Program, one of the largest and most competitive research programs sponsored by the agency.

The research team includes eight University at Albany scholars from a range of disciplines including public policy, public administration, information science, information management, computer science and organizational communication.

"Government information integration initiatives are embedded in complex environments that include business processes, technical infrastructure, public policies, organizational culture, and a political context," said CTG Director Sharon Dawes. "By looking at information integration initiatives from all of these perspectives, we are more likely to get a full picture of what makes them succeed or fail."

"CTG has put together an innovative research design that will help us model the dynamics of interorganizational information integration over time," said David Andersen, a distinguished service professor in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy and a researcher on the project.

The project will be carried out in three phases, according to Theresa Pardo, the project leader and CTG deputy director. In the first phase, CTG will partner the New York State Police and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on mission-critical integration initiatives.

In phase two, CTG will lead a series of field investigations, during which researchers will examine similar integration projects in several other states. Phase three will include a national survey designed to validate the models of integration developed based on the results of phase one and two.

"As with all of our work, this project has been designed to produce results that can help people in government working on similar types of initiatives," said Dawes. "The better we understand the many facets of a successful integration project, the more helpful our results will be to future government policy initiatives that depend on information integration."

The mission of the Center for Technology in Government at the University at Albany is to foster public sector innovation, enhance capability, generate public value, and support good governance. We carry out this mission through applied research, knowledge sharing, and collaboration at the intersection of policy, management, and technology. 

The University at Albany-SUNY has a broad mission of excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, life-enhancing research and scholarship, and a commitment to public service. A University at Albany education brings the world within reach to students through nine schools and colleges, and an honors college. A student body of more than 17,000 students has a global connection to more than 140,000 alumni. For more information about this internationally ranked institution, visit www.albany.edu. For UAlbany's extensive roster of faculty experts, visit www.albany.edu/news/experts.php.