Center for Public Technology
 

UNC-chapel hill school of government
Chief Information Officers (CIO) Certification Program

Public sector CIOs and IT directors are facing increasing challenges and responsibilities in the era of new governance. As the lines between traditional functional services and departments begin to blur, the IT leadership is charged with 1) managing the constantly expanding role for IT within your government, 2) protecting your government against ever-increasing security threats, and 3) keeping up with the feverish pace of new technology.

The CIO Certification Program is a ten-month course that lays the foundation for assessing and addressing some of the most critical issues facing IT leadership in local government. The purpose of this program is to equip leaders with the requisite tools to manage and improve their organizational technology assets. During the course of the program, we will address major topics, including IT governance, project management, and risk assessment and management. Each broad topic will examine specific local government issues and draw on participant experience to provide both theoretical and practical applied knowledge to the challenges. Case studies, exercises and guest speakers will be included.


The following table illustrates the course content offered in the CIO Certification program.

Month
Major Topic
Content
January Understanding the Enterprise Goal Alignment ; IT Roles; Value Add of IT; Building a Business case; Measuring & Communicating Success; Organizational Constructs
February Strategic Technology Planning and Management Capital / Infrastructure Planning; Unifying Potential; SDLC; IS Scorecard/Metrics; Project Charters; Stakeholder Identification; Relationship/process modeling
March Communication: Creating a Shared Understanding Elected Officials; Management; Users
April Project Management Developing requirements; Work breakdown structure; Estimating techniques; Schedule and cost plans; Managing Change Requests; Project Organization & Reporting
May Emerging Issues and Technologies Best Practices; Integrating Strategic Technology Planning into the Organization; Being the Champion for Departmental IT Requests; E-commerce; E-business; Cross-boundary (Intergovernmental Relations)
June Risk Management Tools for risk management plan; Risk identification (financial, technical, budgetary); Risk/opportunity costs; Portfolio management; Risk mitigation techniques; Knowledge transfer
August Acquisition Management Bid/No-Bid/Piggybacking/RFP Development; Writing a contract; Contract enforceability; Contract Authorities; Contract interpretation; Technical direction and contract changes; Managing technical, cost, schedule, performance
September Change Management Enterprise approaches to IT; Change resistance; Leading change; Opportunity identification; Knowledge management; Outsourcing; Managed competition
  Leadership in a Change Environment Roles of CIO; Decision-making; Conflict negotiation; Team building skills; Motivation techniques; Marketing
October Securing the Enterprise: Policies and Procedures Disaster recovery; Business continuity; Security Awareness & Management Privacy & HIPAA; Security Audits; ITs Role in a Disaster
November Financing Technology Initiatives Budgeting; Grants (writing, availability); TCO, ROI; State Contract Purchasing; Other Legal Issues

Expectations of Participants: All participants in the program will be expected to complete approximately eight hours of reading and written work prior to each module of the CIO school. Assignments and readings will be posted on the Blackboard website two weeks prior to the beginning of each module. During the course of the program, participants will be expected to complete all readings and learning instruments provided by the instructors. Each person attending the program is expected to attend all sessions.

Applications: The online application window is from mid-August to mid-November. The 2010 application window will open on August 17 and close on November 23. Applicants will then be reviewed and notified by December 4. The 2009 course has already in session.

Location: All course modules will be held at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government (Knapp-Sanders Building), with the exception of the two modules held in conjunction with the NCLGISA Fall and Spring conferences.

Text: Instructional materials will be supplied by the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government.

Cost: The cost of materials, refreshments, and lunches for each individual will be covered by the 2009 class registration fee of $1700 for in-state students or $3000 for out-of-state students. The fee is payable upon acceptance into the program. Checks should be made payable to the UNC- Chapel Hill School of Government. A refund of $1600 for in-state students or $2900 for out-of-state students will be provided to those who cancel their application at least one month before the program begins. An additional $100 charge will be assessed for individuals canceling their applications less than one month before the start of the program. No refunds will be issued once the program has begun.

Certificate: Participants who satisfactorily complete the course will receive a special certificate from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government. Satisfactory completion means that all assignments have been completed and all sessions attended by the participant. In those instances where a person fails to attend a topic for some unavoidable reason, the person must arrange a one-on-one session with the instructor in order to receive the certificate. Each participant is allowed to miss only one module within the program.

Prerequisites: To qualify for the program, applicants must be directly, or have a desire to become, responsible for supervising employees within an information technology department. The class size will be limited to thirty (30) in each of the programs.

Housing Information: Participants are responsible for their housing arrangements and costs. A list of accommodations will be included in your acceptance package.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Shannon Schelin at 919.962.5438 or via e-mail at: schelin@sog.unc.edu.

Admission to all UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government programs and conferences is without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.

If you have a disability and need accommodation to participate in any UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government program, please let us know.