RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - North Carolina will lead a coalition of 25 states that will collaborate to bring innovative ideas and practices to government technology.  The National Innovation Community was announced by Gov. Pat McCrory on Tuesday. It will be led by State Chief Information Officer Chris Estes and will model North Carolina's Innovation Center, which is already in place.
 
“North Carolina is a national leader in using innovative technology to make government more efficient and customer-friendly,” said Governor McCrory in a statement. “We look forward to sharing our experiences and learning from other states as we all work to improve the service we offer our citizens.”  
 
The Innovation Center is a “try before you buy” working lab where state employees, students and private industry evaluate technology before the state commits to buying it.   
 
More than $6 million worth of technology has been tested at the iCenter at no cost to the state, allowing agencies make better-informed decisions about how to invest their technology dollars. The iCenter has also led to savings of approximately $1.4 million a year in storage costs and $7 million in renegotiated IT contracts.
 
“In the year since the Innovation Center opened, we’ve tested more than twenty technology projects”, said Estes in the statement. “Imagine the impact we could have around the country with another 25 states joining that effort.”