February 8, 2023 – A state department with a concept to improve a business process no longer needs wait for a normal budget cycle, thanks to CDT’s Technology Modernization Fund. TMF’s goal is to put good ideas into practice when the time is right.
The $25 million fund has provided quick wins for state departments with low-risk and high-value projects. These aren’t large transformational projects requiring significant funding and oversight, but smaller-scale efforts that offer important benefits to residents and stakeholders.
TMF now accepts funding proposals through its portal on an ongoing basis. Departments are no longer restricted to a specific application timeframe.
To date, CDT has received 44 applications from which 14 projects were approved. The California Food and Agriculture’s Division of Measurement Standards Registered Service Agency (RSA) portal modernized the cumbersome paper process for service agencies that repair commercial weighing and measuring devices. It was the first TMF project to reach Minimum Viable Product (MVP) status, and it did so in only five months. The RSA went from approval in December 2021 to MVP on May 31, 2022 and became fully operational in November 2022. More TMF-funded projects are in flight and many more will follow.
If your state department has a bright idea to improve its technology, submit it to the TMF. You may be glad you did!