Depending on where you look, government bodies have made great strides in their slow-yet-certain embrace of technology. But, with shining exceptions, there remains a great divide between what digital government presently offers and the great rewards it is destined to bring, for regulators and for the public at large. Also, as governments retire and replace legacy applications, cybersecurity threats loom, necessitating urgency, vigilance, and care throughout digital modernization efforts.

But there are many positive signs, and the connected, effective, and secure future of digital government is already happening. State and provincial CIOs across North America are increasingly fluent in the language of digital government. They are keenly aware of the possibilities presented by cloud solutions, cybersecurity enhancement tools, data analytics, AI, and automation, and they are hungry to do more.

As this marriage of government and technology matures, parallel conversations around regulatory reform and designing more efficient government processes are happening, from the grassroots level to the halls of legislatures. As citizen groups and professionals decry prohibitive licensing requirements amidst labor shortages, legislators find increasing cross-party support for new rules on regulation and spending that drives digital transformation.

In the midst of it all are the people, from the regulators that execute policy to the public they protect. Regulatory leaders are bringing new ideas and approaches to the forefront, sharing a vision of a future where regulation is relentlessly effective and continually improves, just as technology providers are developing the tools to get us there.

There are many dimensions around regulation and modernization, and that requires a nuanced conversation about what it all means, how it is done, and who makes it happen. We created Ascend Magazine to host and hopefully enrich discussions around the people, processes, and technology of government modernization. 

With Ascend, we will explore regulation, licensing, policy, and digital government while sharing commentary from expert contributors. Whether we are discussing the impacts of presidential executive orders on professionals, the pace of licensing reform and deregulation efforts across the U.S., or the role of AI in regulation, Ascend is a home for news and ideas around regulation and what it means to all stakeholders.

Disclaimer

While we strive to provide objective news on regulation, licensing, public policy, and digital government, as well as in-depth editorial content and exclusive commentary from expert voices in regulation, we acknowledge Ascend is a creation of Thentia, a regulatory software vendor. In spite of this, we intend to keep this editorial product as vendor-neutral as possible, as our vision of a better future for regulatory technology is shared by many. Any content that overtly relates to Thentia’s products can be found on the Thentia Cloud Blog.

-Paul Leavoy

Editor, Ascend Magazine