How to successfully collaborate using innovative Cloud technology solutions. Identiefies leadership skills.Software manages approx. 2 billion in public funds.

1. SAMIS -
A Collaboration of
Florida Special Taxing Districts
Presenter –
Patricia K. Gehant, MA
Director of SAMIS
Capstone Presentation
1 July 12, 2011
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

2. Project Summary
The Children’s Services Councils in Florida have been
collaborating on the use of a grants management
SaaS software solution since 2001.
Provides transparencies of operations and
accountably for $1.7 billion in public funds.
Describe the product, the successes, and the
leadership strategies employed over the 10 years of
operation.
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the
Cloud

3. 3
SAMIS is ……...
A grants management suite that tracks how
community programs use public or charitable funds
distributed by governmental and local entities.
Services & Activities Management Information System
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the
Cloud

4. Partners
4
 Children’s Services Councils of
 Broward
 Martin
 Palm Beach
 Hillsborough – The Children’s Board
 Miami - The Children’s Trust
 Pinellas – Juvenile Welfare Board
 Jacksonville - Children's Commission
 Palm Beach Community Services Department
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

5. 5
SAMIS By the Numbers
8 Partners
 18 production databases
 Over 800,000 client records
 2,800 users
 785 program sites entering data
 Manages $300 million in public funds annually
 Manages over $1.7 billion in public funds
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

6. 6
SAMIS Operations
 The SAMIS network operates from in Tampa and
provides 24/7 access to users with a guaranteed uptime of 99%.
 The network consists of three sites – Production, Training and
Testing and contains 18 SQL 2008 R2 databases across the eight
partners.
 Single code base
 Training and testing environments are virtualized using Hyper V
Server 2008 R2 with physical servers for production SQL 2008
servers.
 The web servers, testing and training environments are
virtualized using VMware. The web application is written in .NET
using IIS 6.
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

7. 7
Delivered to users………
 SAMIS
can be accessed using any computer with a
connection to the Internet using IE ver 6 or above
 Role-based security
 Data is protected from public records disclosure
 Data is owned by the individual agency
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

8. 8
Cloud/SaaS Model
Gartner definitions:
 The Cloud is a business function accessed
through the Internet (email, storage, etc.)
 A SaaS is the delivery of a custom
application that uses a single set of code
that is shared across many users
(SalesForce.com, Google Apps, etc.)
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

9. 9
Cloud/SaaS Model
Gehant addendum……
 A Private Cloud solution provides the
customer with the ability to make software
management, monitoring and upgrade
decisions.
 SaaS allows the customer to be a
subscriber to a service but have no
hardware management responsibilities.
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

10. 10
[1]
SAMIS Model
Attributes that support the definition:
1. Services based – Consumer concerns are abstracted from
the provider concerns through a service interface.
2. Scalable and elastic – Services scale on demand to add or
remove resources as needed.
3. Shared – Services share a pool of resources to build
economies of scale
4. Metered by Use – Services are tracked with usage metrics
to enable multiple payment models.
5. Internet technologies – Services are delivered through use
of the Internet identifiers, formats and protocols
(Plummer, 2011)
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

11. 11
SAMIS Management………
 SAMIS is managed as a Data Collaboration under Florida State
Statute, Section 163.62, which provides that agencies of local
governments may establish a collaborative client information
system in which state, local, and private agencies may share
information
 Information is protected from disclosure under the Public
Records laws
 Seven special taxing districts in Florida - Children's Services
Councils (CSCs) form the SAMIS Management Group
 JWB of Pinellas County is the Operating Manager
 Palm Beach CSC is the Fiscal Agent
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

12. 12
Decision Making
Approves CSC Boards
Contract
SAMIS
Approves Management
Budget Committee
(SMC)
Recommends SAMIS
Management
Budget Group (SMG)
Enhancement Infrastructure County Level
Teams Team Partner
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

13. 13
Fees
Implementation Annual Fees
• Operating
• Enhancements
• Enhancement
• Set up activities
• Hardware/Software
Replacement
Metered Rate
•Funds Distributed in SAMIS
Lapsed funds •# Program Budgets
•# Program entering client
data
Reserve Fund
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

14. 14
ROI is High
$600,000
$500,000
Collaborative
$400,000 Pinellas
$300,000
JWB
$409,278
$200,000 JWB
$450.568
$100,000
$-
98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Total Enhancement Investment = $3,852,360
78%
JWB Enhancement Investment = $859,846
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

15. 15
Collaborative
Leadership
 SAMIS was not based on a model used by others
 Standard for operating a SaaS by a governmental entity (JWB)
for other entities did not exist in 2001
 SAMIS Collaborative development was an example of an
adaptive challenge (Heifetz, 2002).
 SAMIS required
 Experimenting
 Developing new ways to standardize a business process across
multiple businesses
 Designing an effective operation model from the ground up
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

16. 16
Role of Operational
Leadership…..
 Leadership is key in the early stages of design and development
 Need to maintain consistent leadership in both the Operational
staff as well as the core thought leaders.
 The original partners negotiated the processes in place today.
 The original partners created the organizational structure recently
tested with the recent changes
 The new partners join the Collaborative and view SAMIS as a
technical solution accepting the process as they do with other
vendor software purchases
 The new partners are trained on how SAMIS is managed
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the
Cloud

17. 17
Change…..
 “without learning new ways – changing
attitudes, values, and behaviors – people
cannot make the adaptive leap necessary
to thrive in a new environment.”
(Heifetz, 2002, p. 13)
SAMIS - Government Accountability through
the Cloud

18. Collaboration
18
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

19. 19
Fiscal Modules
 Workflow
Workflow
 Position Management
 Budgets Amendments Position
Management
 Document Repository
 Reimbursements
 Document Repository Document
Repository Budget
 Funder Amendments
 Reporting
Reimbursements Document
Repository
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the Cloud

20. 20
Program and CDG
Case Data
Outcome Modules Waiting Gatherer
Outcomes
Lists
• CDG
• Outcomes Group
Group Activities
• Group Outcomes Outcomes
• Analysis of Outcomes
• EDI Import
• Volunteer Activities
Data Analysis of
• Attendance Cleaning Outcomes
• Program Units of Srvs.
• Group Units of Service
• Data Cleansing
• Group Activities Group UOS EDI Import
• Waiting lists
• And more…….
Volunteer
Program UOS Activities
Attendance
SAMIS - Government Accountability through the
Cloud

21. 21
More Features…….
 Regular Review and Enhancement Process
 Help Desk
 Webinars/Online Training
 Training Manuals Online
SAMIS - Government Accountability through
the Cloud

22. 22
Why is SAMIS Collaborative
Successful?
 Shared mission – all partners need the
services and cannot afford to create or
purchase independently.
 Long term stability in CSC membership,
management and development staff
 Technology that is flexible and scalable
 Infrastructure that supports the process
 ROI - High Return of Investment
SAMIS - Government Accountability through
the Cloud

23. 23
Why is SAMIS Collaborative
Successful?
 All partners are equal regardless of tax
revenues or fees paid.
 Creating a meeting that encourages input for
all members and an environment where
members are free to give an opinion without
fear of reprisal.
 Meetings designed to build relationships.
 Inquiry is encouraged.
 Open and respectful conversation is expected
from all.
 Shared learning improves the operations and
functioning of the software
SAMIS - Government Accountability through
the Cloud

24. 24
The Future
generates ideas;
generate opportunity;
generates innovation;
generates success! PKG
SAMIS - Government Accountability through
the Cloud

25. 25
The Future
“To the more strategic CIO, (business)
alignment can well mean taking the
lead to help redesign the operations
and policies of the departments so they
can achieve maximum results from their
investment in technology.”
“ Transformation of the Local Government CTO/CIO” Norman Jacknis, Ph.D., “CIO Leadership
for Cities and Counties” Alan Shark. Executive Editor & Authors, Public Technology Institutes,
Washington, DC, 2009
SAMIS - Government Accountability through
the Cloud