Every biennium the technology professionals within North Dakota state government (including technology agencies that support the K-12 educational system), and the North Dakota University System (NDUS), jointly produce a Statewide Information Technology (IT) Plan. This plan is intended to provide a broad understanding of desired technology goals, objectives and initiatives for the coming biennium, as well as provide a snapshot of key activities that have been completed and that are ongoing.
A single, interactive dashboard displays a “whole of government” view of this information for state agencies (including those that support K-12 education), and the Higher Education system. Additionally, the executive summary that follows summarizes the key strategic themes for those entities.
Executive Summary
In the government sector, we face continual challenges and opportunities in how we leverage technology to serve citizens. As we prepare for the 2025 legislative session, we are ready to meet these tasks by leveraging strategic improvements across four State Government IT Goals and six Higher Education Goals.
State IT Goals
- Function as a statewide strategic partner
- Develop a future-proof workforce strategy
- Reinvent citizen experience
- Become an insight-driven state
To apply technology solutions toward progress in achieving these goals, State IT will focus on the following strategic initiatives for 2025-2027.
Goal: Function as a statewide strategic partner
- Objective 1: Explore and evolve IT sourcing strategies to improve services and enable innovation.
- Objective 2: Institute a technology modernization and innovation fund, along with an associated governance model and operating structure.
- Objective 3: Whole-of-state security: Continuing to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of state agencies.
Goal: Develop a future-proof workforce strategy
- Objective 1: Elevate employee experience by building a behavior-based leadership framework.
- Objective 2: Architect and develop a workforce for the modern workplace.
Goal: Reinvent citizen experience
- Objective 1: Enhance data sharing flexibility by reducing point-to-point dependencies.
- Objective 2: Expand the citizen and business portal.
- Objective 3: Enable personalized online experiences for citizens.
Goal: Become an insight-driven state
- Objective 1: Foster data culture and literacy to establish it as a core competency.
- Objective 2: Implement data governance and stewardship across agencies.
- Objective 3: Modernize data infrastructure and architecture.
- Objective 4: Enhance data consumption products and services.
Higher Education
In the post-secondary education space, technology presents us with exciting opportunities to equip our students with essential skills that are beneficial for careers across numerous industries and professions. NDUS is actively working to strengthen and expand partnerships that support our K-12 educators and enhance our offerings in higher education, positioning the state as a frontrunner in computer science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education has identified six key strategic goals that include optimized financials, responsive programming, increased student success, a unified system approach, research excellence and innovation, and workforce development. Building upon this foundation are four NDUS IT goals aimed to support the university system’s current and future infrastructure needs, facilitate digital transformation of systems and services, provide a user experience that is responsive to changing needs and expectations, and enhance the NDUS’ collaborative efforts.
Aligned with both sets of goals are comprehensive IT themes of academic services, information security and data privacy, operational efficiency and effectiveness, enterprise service management, infrastructure, and artificial intelligence. Each domain includes strategic initiatives committed to enhancing the overall experience across the NDUS enterprise:
- Develop and provide cutting edge technologies, dynamic learning environments, comprehensive classroom support, and services that enrich teaching, learning, and research.
- Strengthen information security and ensure data privacy is protected and handled in compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
- Manage increasing operational requirements with effective solutions.
- Foster success and satisfaction of students, faculty, and staff by creating a supportive, service-oriented environment through targeted education and training, active collaboration, positive interactions, timely service delivery, and enhanced service offerings.
- Continuously improve technology infrastructure to deliver a positive learning and teaching experience.
- Support the appropriate and ethical use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to develop and enhance the skillsets of NDUS students, faculty and staff.
An essential aspect of implementing important initiatives is seizing upon the right opportunities for collaboration. NDUS, NDIT, the Department of Public Instruction, Career and Technology Education, and over 40 partners are joining forces to inspire the next generation of technology professionals. We are working closely with industry leaders to enhance and expand computer science programs, certifications, degrees, apprenticeships, and credentialing, all while equipping educators with valuable training and classroom resources.
The Dakota Digital Academy (DDA) initiative, part of the North Dakota University System, is working to coordinate, expand, and enhance educational opportunities in computing and cyber sciences across North Dakota and the upper Midwest. By leveraging resources from all 11 NDUS institutions, the DDA aims to prepare the future workforce and foster new economic growth sectors in the state. The initiative has already led to the creation of new courses and the awarding of grants that have enabled educators to attend cyber bootcamps.
Moreover, NDUS institutions are partnering with the North Dakota Center for Distance Education to develop new online opportunities for technical and business professionals to impart essential skills to our future workforce. Throughout the state’s educational system, various entities are collaborating to engage in data-driven decision-making, utilizing the Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) and the Insights.nd.gov dashboards.
The integration of technology in instruction has become increasingly vital across the North Dakota University System. Though the COVID pandemic necessitated a shift to remote learning, the adoption and use of advanced, hands-on, project-based tools continues even as traditional teaching methods have resumed on campuses. Furthermore, the NDUS's investment in and adoption of learning technologies can be attributed to a 1.6 percent enrollment increase from the fall 2022 semester to the fall 2023 semester, while national enrollment increased by 1.1 percent during the same period.
Across all technology interactions, cybersecurity and the protection of our state and citizens’ data remains a critical priority. We continue to work closely with the Legislature to enhance our state’s cybersecurity posture. By aligning the people, processes and technologies spanning our IT enterprises we will be able to better respond and adapt to the evolving threat landscape.
Within the context of Governor Burgum’s five strategic initiatives, and with the strong leadership of the state’s educational leaders, North Dakota has a singular focus on how technology can help our citizens succeed.
 |  |
| Greg Hoffman | Tom Danford |
| Chief Information Officer, State of ND | Vice Chancellor of IT, ND University System |
The Statewide IT Plan Dashboard
IT goals, objectives, and accomplishments for nearly all Executive Branch agencies, the Judicial Branch, the Legislative Branch, the K-12 Educational System, and the ND University System, are viewable from one Statewide IT Planning Dashboard.