Government Innovation Texas

Citizens rarely think about the technology behind public services - they simply expect services to work. The most successful public technology is often invisible, quietly enabling better decisions, faster responses, and greater confidence in government. Drawing on Austin Water’s digital transformation journey, this keynote explores how intentional service design, data, and technology converge to create connected, resilient public services that earn trust. Attendees will leave with practical insights for designing services where technology fades into the background and citizen outcomes take center stage.

Corrections agencies depend on accurate, trusted data when decisions affect officer safety, inmate safety, and public risk. This session will show how TDCJ is connecting AI, data science, and the Data Management Office to build reliable data products that improve decision-making, strengthen governance, and support safer operations.

• Build trustworthy “gold record” data products that give frontline teams one reliable source of truth
• Improve public safety outcomes by applying AI and data science to contraband detection, drone countermeasures, inmate identification, and officer safety
• Strengthen governance by classifying data according to risk and applying compliance controls proportionately
• Enable interagency collaboration by sharing cleaner, validated data with partners across Texas
• Reduce operational burden by turning fragmented records into usable intelligence for reporting, analysis, and response

Texas agencies are modernizing at pace, but scale introduces a new set of challenges that can slow delivery if they are not addressed early. In this keynote, Chris Bunton, Chief Information Officer for the Texas Department of Agriculture and former state Chief Information Security Officer, brings a grounded government lens on how to move faster while staying responsible.

Over the last 18 months, the relationship between cyber and innovation has shifted as AI becomes embedded in service delivery and operations. This session reframes “risk” towards readiness, with governance that enables adoption. This session will outline how to:

• Establish modernization governance that keeps licensing, accountability, and delivery aligned
• Translate “responsible AI” from principle into operational controls and decision-making checkpoints
• Use a readiness assessment to surface gaps early and prioritize what to fix first
• Reframe cybersecurity as an enabler of modernization, not a blocker
• Equip executives and delivery teams with a consistent set of questions to guide AI adoption and reduce uncertainty
• Build a culture of secure innovation that supports both citizen outcomes and enterprise resilience

AI transformations often stall due to a lack of verified context with vital information often living in fragmented, undocumented processes - the invisible infrastructure of the business. With 40% of agentic AI projects at risk due to unclear value, leaders must treat documentation as infrastructure. In this session, you will learn how to scale clarity, transforming institutional knowledge into the trusted and verified logic AI needs to succeed.

Service delivery improves when agencies design around real user needs, test ideas in practice, and scale what works. As governments modernize their digital platforms and internal workflows, a user-centric approach grounded in feedback, iterative piloting, and phased implementation is critical to improving outcomes for both employees and the citizens they serve.

This session will explore how public sector teams can move from pilot projects to scalable digital transformation, using real-world feedback to refine solutions. From testing emerging technologies with a single district to scaling successful tools across multiple teams, the discussion will examine how agencies can build confidence, improve usability, and deliver more effective services through practical, evidence-led implementation.

• Improve service outcomes by using feedback from frontline users and service teams
• Pilot emerging technologies in focused environments before scaling across the organization
• Use surveys, testing, and employee insight to understand what works and where improvements are needed
• Reduce complexity by embedding digital tools into existing workflows
• Transform delivery through phased, user-led implementation that supports broader adoption
• Build scalable digital services that improve internal operations and ultimately deliver better outcomes for citizens

Legacy systems remain mission-critical across Texas government. Modernizing them is no longer a one-time replacement exercise. It is an ongoing process of adapting to rapid technology change while working within the operational, financial, and capacity realities of state departments. Success depends on clearly defining immediate service needs, prioritizing outcomes over features, and pacing modernization at a rate the organization can sustain.

This panel will discuss practical approaches to modernizing legacy environments while maintaining service continuity and security. It will examine how agencies are assessing technology options, planning multi-year investments, and using innovation differently at the enterprise, program, and frontline levels to deliver measurable improvements without disrupting what already works.

• Prioritize needs vs wants by anchoring decisions to service outcomes, risk, and user impact
• Align modernization pace to department readiness, including change capacity and operational constraints
• Plan finances for immediate needs and multi-year delivery, including total cost and sequencing trade-offs
• Improve integration across old and new platforms through modular approaches, APIs, and phased migration
• Enable innovation at multiple levels, from enterprise roadmaps to program pilots and frontline workflow improvements

Cyber incidents can disrupt essential services and erode public trust. Building resilience requires more than technical controls. It depends on modernizing legacy environments, integrating systems across agencies and vendors, and embedding cyber readiness into culture, communications, and day-to-day operations.

This panel will examine how Texas agencies are strengthening cyber resilience to maintain service continuity before, during, and after incidents. Discussion will include practical approaches to integrating security into modernization and systems consolidation efforts, improving coordination across state and local partners, and strengthening the relationships that enable rapid decision-making and response.

• Improve readiness through training, exercises, and clear roles across technical and business teams
• Reduce operational impact by strengthening integration, identity, and visibility across interconnected systems
• Modernize legacy environments while managing risk during migrations, consolidations, and vendor transitions
• Strengthen state and local coordination through shared playbooks, communication protocols, and trusted relationships
• Advance continuity planning for critical services, including recovery priorities and cross-agency dependencies

Most poor government digital services don't come from bad intentions—they come from good people working inside complex systems. This session will draw on nearly 30 years of experience to reveal three common mistakes that quietly undermine even the best-funded modernization efforts and that most teams never realize they're making. Through real-world stories, this session shows how human-centered design helps agencies uncover what people actually need before they build, buy, or automate. The payoff: reduced errors, call volume, and costly post-launch fixes, while building public trust. Whether you're modernizing a website, working on digital accessibility, or rolling out your first AI use case, you'll leave knowing how to spot these mistakes in your own work, and how to avoid them.

Pick your topic. Pull up a seat and join a 45‑minute interactive discussion with your government peers. Facilitated by an industry expert, you’ll share challenges and swap practical approaches within the topic area. Take this opportunity to benchmark what good looks like, pressure-test ideas, and workshop next steps together.

Roundtable 1: Driving Mission Success with Agentic AI

Roundtable 2: From Mandates to Practice: Governing AI Risk Before It Governs You

Roundtable 3: Simplifying Government IT: Modern Endpoint Management for More Resilient Agencies

Roundtable 4: Transform Public Sector Operations and Service Delivery by Using AI

Roundtable 5: Building Resilient State Agencies for the Future

Roundtable 6: Building the Future Government Workplace: Secure, Flexible, and Ready for AI

Government procurement is evolving, with agencies seeking not just cost savings but also innovation, accountability, and long-term value from vendor relationships.

In this session, procurement leaders will provide insights to help vendors better understand the government’s priorities, expectations, and processes. Attendees will gain clarity on how to navigate compliance requirements, present innovative solutions, and build partnerships that align with agency missions and citizen needs.

A quick-fire share-back: we’ll take the mic around the room for the top takeaways from each roundtable, so you can catch the insights from sessions you missed before reconvening for the rest of the conference.