BOSTON – Governor Deval Patrick has named Tony Parham as the Commonwealth’s first Government Innovation Officer (GIO). In keeping with the Patrick Administration’s commitment to changing the way government does business, the GIO will work with the Administration to find innovative ways to improve efficiency and streamline the delivery of government services.
“Tony Parham brings decades of experience as an executive, entrepreneur and consultant to the Executive Office for Administration and Finance,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “With his leadership we will continue to implement pioneering ways to better serve the Commonwealth’s residents.”
“The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a hub for innovation,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. “I am confident that Tony will use his years of experience in technology to usher in a new age of innovation for all Executive branch agencies.”
Created by Executive Order 542, the GIO position will report both to the Governor and the Secretary of Administration and Finance. This role will focus on improving the experience with state government for citizens, businesses and municipalities, while also working to boost internal government efficiencies, leverage technology to improve services and save money, and improve performance for state employees and residents alike.
“I am proud to welcome Tony Parham as our new Government Innovation Officer,” said Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez. “Tony is committed to changing the way government does business by identifying and implementing innovative ways to make government work better.”
In addition to establishing the GIO position, the EO also created the Governor’s Council for Innovation. The Council will advise Governor Patrick on the best opportunities to improve government efficiency and use technology to streamline delivery of services to people, businesses and local governments. In addition, the Council will enhance the Administration’s ongoing efforts to improve services to residents, businesses and local governments by engaging with technology experts and entrepreneurs to focus on creating technology upgrades that will help streamline the delivery of services.
The Commonwealth will also establish a statewide innovation competition to solicit proposals for innovative uses of technology that will enable the Commonwealth to better serve its residents and save money. Details on the competition are being developed and will be announced in the coming months.
“I am pleased to join the Governor and Secretary Gonzalez in creating innovative and collaborative ways to interact with state government,” said Tony Parham. “As our culture and economy continues to evolve in its use of technology, it is important that state government leverages the ‘digital channel’ to improve value delivered to the public.”
Tony Parham has 30-plus years’ experience of business and technology leadership across a wide range of business sizes, from startups to large enterprises. Educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and Master of Science Degree in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management) and the University of Southern California (Master of Science Degree in Computer Science), his career has bridged the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors.
Tony has also completed various projects in the public and not-for-profit sectors. He provided executive coaching for leaders of non-profit social agencies; steered strategy and creation of operations, processes and web-based systems for Mass Faith Helps to assist Hurricane Katrina Evacuees; formalized Massachusetts statewide evacuee processes for Children’s Services of Roxbury; crafted a $14.7M proposal in response to a national RFP to create a multi-state consortium to address the needs of evacuees throughout New England; created a research report and Job Readiness Resource Guide for the High Risk Youth Network; and was the founding chair of International Business Machine Corporation’s Massachusetts Diversity Council.
