WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Friday released the sixth annual report of the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) Board. Governor Carney established GEAR by Executive Order #4 in February 2017 to identify ways for state government to operate more efficiently, improve the delivery of state services, and provide cost savings.

The report highlights key accomplishments and ongoing efforts across state government in 2022, including:

• Development of continuous improvement professionals within state government is expanding.  Fifty-two practitioners from fifteen state organizations are executing projects within a portfolio of one hundred twenty-five initiatives. Savings to the state are estimated to total $61-65 million over the life of projects underway.
• Savings and improvements for taxpayers are being achieved through lease restructurings, refined state vehicle (FLEET) utilization, long-term care delivery optimization, scanning/self-check equipment in Delaware’s libraries, the development of trauma informed care practices for children and families, automated state park fee collection, along with streamlined financial, human resource and information technology systems.
• Reviewing capital project processes within public school systems remains a priority through the EdGEAR (Education-GEAR) team with a comprehensive review of all parts of this process currently underway.
• Driving improvements to digital government services allowing citizens to access and transact with the state anytime, from anywhere, and on any device.
• Continuing the GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency and Trailblazer Award programs that rewards state employees who demonstrate successful implementations of innovative, cost saving, and service enhancing continuous improvement projects.
• Reimagining State Service Center delivery in Delaware which will improve how citizens apply for benefits such as food assistance, cash benefits, healthcare, and housing.
• Expanding high-speed, broadband internet service in Delaware’s underserved areas through public-private partnerships.

“As the GEAR Board performs its valuable role and we continue to train employees across the State, our state government is finding ways to save taxpayer money and foster a culture of continuous improvement.” said Governor Carney. “GEAR’s efforts to improve data-driven decision making are exactly what we need to generate service improvements and communicate the value of savings that are being achieved for Delawareans.”

The Board’s report, released each December, also provides policy and budgetary recommendations for possible inclusion in the Governor’s agenda and budget for Fiscal Year 2024.  Governor Carney’s budget proposal will be released on January 26, 2023.

Recommendations in the 2022 report include:

• Support the Ready in Six permitting improvement initiative by investing in recommendations for specific process improvements being gathered through a survey distributed to over 1,500 industry focused partners.
• Expand participation in the Continuous Improvement Practitioner (CIP) Training program and a new project and process leadership training path by increasing funding for the First State Quality Improvement Fund (FSQIF).  Support recommended amendments to the FSQIF modernizing language to reflect current best practices and GEAR’s role.
• Identify and implement changes in the state personnel system by establishing job classifications for “project managers” and “Lean business process analysts” in partnership with the Department of Human Resources.
• Support investments to procure and use best practice project portfolio management and business process management tools.  The use of common tools facilitates collaboration across the enterprise, avoids duplication of effort, increases the precision of estimating quantifiable outcomes, and improves the efficiency of the state’s business processes.

“The ability to quantify outcomes is as important as the development of the skills applied to delivering efficiencies,” said Charles Clark and Daniel Madrid, Executive Director and Deputy Director of GEAR respectively, and Bryan Sullivan, Director of Management Efficiency at the Delaware Office of Management and Budget. “The Enterprise Services Delivery and GEAR Field teams represent fifteen state organizations that are delivering value through the execution of numerous projects aimed at achieving cost savings, estimated to total $61-65 million over the life of projects underway.”

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