How Public Sector Teams Are Closing the IT–Program Gap
In public sector transformation, success isn't defined purely by tech. While GenAI for example may get a lot of attention, the real value isn’t “We used GenAI” —it's whether GenAI actually empowers the people and programs it was intended to serve. Bridging the gap between IT capabilities and programmatic goals is not just *A* strategy—it's THE KEY for delivering long-term impact. An investment with specific returns, rather than spend and raw costs.
Bridging this IT/program gap was one of the dominant themes that emerged at the recent California Public Sector CIO Academy, where future-facing leaders gathered to explore the future of state government through the lens of modernization, workforce development, and AI adoption.
One insight stood out repeatedly: Alignment between IT and programmatic leadership is essential to delivering on the promise of what people mean by “Capital D” Digital Transformation (large scale, undeniable impact), rather than “small d” digital transformation (a more focused, limited transformation).
Misalignment Wreckage
When IT and program teams operate on parallel paths, moving in the same direction, but not regularly communicating and collaborating, even well-intentioned modernization efforts can lead to unwanted and unintended results.
For example:
Applications are launched without input from frontline workers; feedback and testing is inadvertently delayed until it’s “too late to make changes;” or platforms are procured before the full scope of policy requirements or the real-world scale of who will be served is understood.
Meanwhile, IT leaders are tasked with managing systems that lack context, buy-in, or strategic alignment with agency and department missions, seen more as technology plumbers and tradespeople rather than strategic, “seat at the able” architects of well-designed systems.
The result? Wasted resources, stalled innovation, and frustration for technologists, program leaders, and ultimately, the public and public representatives.
True Alignment = Constant Feedback Loops
When done right, alignment between IT and programs isn’t a one-time exercise—it’s an ongoing collaboration built on transparency, shared goals, and mutual accountability.
By ongoing, we mean that realistically, it is nearly impossible to overcommunicate the current perspectives and status of IT and program owner timelines, blockers, and tested/verified progress.
Let’s make “True alignment” a bit more specific:
- IT understands and embraces the program's mission and the public outcomes it seeks to deliver.
- That understanding is constantly refined by testing and verifying with program owners, their proxies, or people who are the intended target audience.
- Program leaders see IT personnel not as a cost center, but as a strategic, collaborative partner for achieving their goals.
- Governance and funding models support continuous co-innovation that evolves throughout getting to production release, as well as ongoing improvements driven by real-world feedback.
- Metrics for success reflect both technical and human outcomes, keeping the sustainability of meeting those outcomes aligned well into the future top of mind.
Alignment is not about who leads. It’s about moving forward together.
Challenges Standing in the Way
Bridging the divide between program leaders and technology leaders isn’t easy.
At the CIO Academy, several recurring themes emerged from conversations with leaders across California agencies:
- Siloed Structures Create Blindness: Org charts often create a nearly inevitable disconnect between tech and program teams that’s left unaddressed until it's far too late in the project lifecycle. This isn’t new, but that two decades worth of Lean Startups and large-scale agile implementations haven’t made a more significant dent in the way that programs can thrive with constant communication and feedback is a clear opportunity for immediately improved outcomes.
- Talent Gaps in Retention and Hiring: Both IT and program teams face resource constraints that make collaboration feel like a luxury rather than a necessity, as the best talent is stretched thin, and hiring options for skilled government workers run up against the salary and career opportunities of commercial ventures.
- Procurement Constraints: Rigid procurement timelines and requirements can stifle innovation and collaboration, driving towards lowest cost and “safe” vendor choices.
- Fear of Disruption: Many agencies are hesitant to embrace modernization due to a lack of clarity on how new tech will impact their core services or workforce.
A Human-Centric Way Forward
At Infocap, we believe that human-centric automation can serve as a powerful bridge between IT and program goals—finding the gaps where humans ARE the bridge currently, buckling under the weight of the workload—instead, becoming well-equipped guides that assist the public to accomplishing whatever they may need to do, supported by thoughtful automation that makes traditional manual work into well designed experiences, without the clunkiness of legacy, badly integrated solutions.
We co-innovate with public sector leaders to:
- Start with the end in mind: Define the programmatic impact first, then build the right automation around it – avoiding automating for the sake of automation, turning a bad manual process into a faster, but still bad process.
- Create shared visibility: Ensure both IT and program stakeholders can see, understand, and measure progress, easily and instantly.
- Integrate change into the culture: Support adoption from day one through thoughtful onboarding, education, transparency, and continuous feedback.
From Compliance to Capacity
Often, automation in the public sector is viewed through a compliance lens. But the real opportunity lies in capacity-building that outlasts a single point in time. Planning for the future, taking advantage of scalability designs that enable growth without overbuilding. Creating automation that removes friction, eliminates redundancy, and frees people to focus on the most meaningful parts of their work, while minimizing treating people like human robots.
For example:
- A case intake process that took 5 days, reduced to less than 1 hour with automated validation and routing.
- Eligibility verification that required hours of manual review, that now happens in real time.
- Backlogs that frustrated constituents and staff alike, handled by intelligent digital co-workers that support, not replace, the workforce.
These outcomes are only possible when IT and program teams define success together—targeting outcomes that support the program, with technology that’s built to be adaptable over the long term.
The Role of Agentic AI
Emerging tools like generative and agentic AI add a new dimension to the conversation. As seen in the “Executive Order N-12-23" for GenAI in California, there is momentum behind putting these tools in the hands of agency CIOs.
But the key question isn’t just what these tools can do.
It’s how they can be deployed to meaningfully advance program outcomes. That’s where alignment becomes non-negotiable.
We advise agencies to:
- Start with a co-designed use case—one with clear policy relevance and measurable outcomes.
- Ensure AI solutions place the human perspective at the center of their approach—ensuring that every AI-driven outcome is observable, explainable, accountable, and appealable.
- Involve both technical and program leadership in evaluation, rollout, and governance.
Lessons from the Field
In our work with public agencies, we've seen the impact of intentional alignment:
- A workforce agency streamlined benefits eligibility checks and redeployed staff to higher-value services.
- A child welfare department created a unified intake process that connected siloed systems and improved response times.
- A DMV modernized their backend processes without retraining every frontline worker—because automation fit into their existing workflows.
These aren't just IT wins. They are mission wins.
Bringing It All Together
Transformation requires more than tools.
It requires shared vision, sustained collaboration, and a commitment to outcomes that matter.
For government leaders, the road ahead isn’t just about being more digital—it’s about being more aligned.
When IT and program goals move in lockstep, innovation scales faster, adoption is smoother, and impact is both greater and longer lasting.
At Infocap, we’re proud to partner with government teams ready to take that step. Let’s co-innovate and build what’s next—together.