Drive to Excellence

The Drive to Excellence reform initiative is an ambitious plan for reshaping the Executive Branch of state government into an enterprise that is nimble, embraces change and improves continuously.  In an enterprise organizations, all components work together, seamlessly, to realize common goals, which, in the case of state government, is to serve the citizen.   The objectives of the Drive to Excellence are to increase quality, increase customer service and reduce the costs of government by:

• Creating more “one-stop-shop” opportunities for easier government services
• Increasing secure and effective electronic delivery of government services
• Streamlining common functions and activities
• Optimizing the size of state government by leveraging state worker retirements
• Saving money through more efficient, effective service delivery

The Drive to Excellence Transformation Roadmap, released in 2005, is the foundation of this reform initiative.  The Roadmap identifes eight business transformation areas and 24 business cases for change, from planning and budgeting to asset management and procurement, for realizing Drive's goals.  The Drive to Excellence Program Office, housed in the Department of Administration, publishes a monthly newsletter and issues two annual reports outlining the progress on the initiative.  These publications, along the additional information about Drive Products, are available on the Drive to Excellence website, www.excellence.state.mn.us.

Current Projects

One-Stop Licensing
The One-Stop Licensing Initiative creates a streamlined one-stop-shop for business and professional licenses and is one of six Drive to Excellence initiatives launched by Governor Tim Pawlenty in April 2005.

Property Management
The Real Property Management Initiative creates a new organizational structure and business tools to centrally and electronically inventory and manage the more than 5000 buildings owned by the state.

Strategic Sourcing
The Sourcing Initiative creates a new organizational approach to gain leverage for all the state’s purchases, including such strategies as setting product standards initiating and specifying stricter pricing weights when evaluating "best value;" an increased emphasis on negotiations; and consolidating and reducing the number of state contracts.

Grants Management
The Grants Management Initiative seeks to create a new enterprise organization approach with standardized policies and procedures and tools that will improve and simplify processes and increase accountability for state grant activities.

MAPS
The Minnesota Accounting and Procurement System (MAPS) is a mission-critical business system that supports the daily operations of the State. This project calls for an analysis of requirements and a recommendation for vastly improved systems for accounting and procurement management.

Fleet Management
The state fleet includes approximately 8,000 on-road vehicles. This project creates a shared services operative effort that would coordinate fleet management business, technology and operational functions across agencies. Through shared services, the state would realize better utilization of vehicles, facilities and agency expertise; improved service to agencies; and reduced costs.

Enterprise Training
This project establishes an enterprise workforce development program with consistent content and quality training, common tools and preferred "best practices."  This will include a portal that will offer a common set of competency management and training delivery tools throughout the state. This portal will include a library of web-based training course and a comprehensive catalog of training choices.

"Every Employee Counts"
With the upcoming wave of "baby boomers" retirements, the Workforce Planning Initiative is necessary to create an enterprise-wide plan to ensure that all agencies have the opportunity to develop their workforce plans using a consistent toolkit and common policies.

Completed Projects

IT Governance
One of six Drive to Excellence initiatives launched by Governor Tim Pawlenty in April 2005, the IT Governance Initiative created a new enterprise approach to technology services, purchasing and accountability. The project was completed in February 2006 with the approval and rollout of the state’s new IT governance structure under the auspices of the newly formed and statutorily authorized Office of Enterprise Technology.

Codes Consolidation
The State Building Codes Regulation Initiative simplified and consolidated state building codes functions of state government. The project was completed in July 2005 with the consolidation of state building codes functions from multiple agencies to a single unit in the Department of Labor and Industry.

Disability Minnesota
The goal of the Disability Minnesota project was to provide easy online access to disability programs, products and services that are offered by more than 25 state agencies.  The project was completed in June 2007 with the launch of the Minnesota Disability website, www.mndisability.gov.