The Office of Innovation works in partnership with the Governor’s office and State agencies to create innovative policies and technologies that address complex public problems, including the following select projects.
In collaboration with numerous State departments and agencies, the Office of Innovation has undertaken an array of projects to support the State of New Jersey’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and improve the delivery of information and services to New Jerseyans, and the businesses and institutions of the Garden State. Collectively, these Office of Innovation's projects have reached millions of New Jerseyans, and served hundreds of thousands of businesses across the Garden State.
At the onset of the public health crisis, the Office of Innovation rapidly created a new website to serve as a central information hub on all matters related to
COVID-19. The site features constantly updated information in English and Spanish on what resources are available to help New Jerseyans through the pandemic,
the latest on business regulations and safety guidance, and scientific content from the Federation of American Scientists.
This project was developed in partnership with Yext, which has offered its services to the Office of Innovation on a pro bono basis.
The COVID-19 Information Hub also features a testing site locator and a symptom self-assessment
tool where New Jerseyans can check their symptoms and learn what to do if they believe they may have COVID-19. The tool has also provided public health officials with
anonymized data to inform predictive analytics and help anticipate where the virus may spread.
Due to the wide-ranging and unprecedented economic impact of COVID-19, a Jobs Portal was rapidly created and deployed on the
Information Hub to help connect the hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans who lost their jobs with employment opportunities provided by essential businesses. The Information Hub
is closely linked to the Business Information Hub that serves as a dedicated resource for New Jersey’s business community.
The Business Information Hub at cv.business.nj.gov was rapidly deployed at the start of the COVID-19 crisis to
offer a definitive source of information for New Jersey businesses. The Business Info Hub also includes live-chat assistance, provided by the State’s Business
Action Center, for businesses that have additional questions or require information clarifications.
Content on the Business Information Hub is updated daily in English and Spanish with the latest information from the Governor’s executive orders and detailed
safety guidance for businesses. As the public health crisis evolves, the interagency content process and cooperation put into place during the emergency
will be incorporated into Business.NJ.gov to power the site.
SmarterNJ is an open government platform that empowers New Jerseyans to engage on a wide variety of policy issues. To make policies even more effective,
we need to tap the State’s most valuable assets: the intelligence, expertise, and know-how of its people. That's why the SmarterNJ initiative is focused
on creating new and innovative ways for the public to meaningfully contribute to the policymaking process.
Through tailored public consultations—developed in partnership with State departments and agencies—the SmarterNJ platform enables the public to submit
ideas for government-led, prize-backed challenges, contribute their thoughts and insights regarding policy issues and proposals, and provide feedback on
the implementation of policy and programs to ensure that public services are working as intended.
The first project to launch under the SmarterNJ initiative was the Innovation ENJINE Challenge—an open
innovation challenge that leveraged the hard-earned knowledge of State employees to make government more effective and efficient.
Your Future of Work—a problem identification consultation—was launched in partnership with the New
Jersey Future of Work Task Force, and concluded in February of 2020.
The New Jersey Innovation Skills Accelerator is a free, online program to train public officials to leverage new technology and data to drive innovation in
their day-to-day work, and tap into the intelligence and expertise of residents of the Garden State. The program includes video instruction, interviews with
leading public sector innovators from around the world, readings, and self-assessments to help public entrepreneurs work differently. Course content spans an
array of subject areas, including introductions to new technologies like blockchain and big data analytics, utilizing modern methodologies like user-centered
design and open innovation, and employing experimental design approaches.
In addition to being freely available to all State government employees, the Innovation Skills Accelerator's online content is also publicly accessible, with
the hope that county and local governments across the Garden State - as well as states and municipalities across the country and the world - will also find
the trainings helpful.
The Business First Stop initiative was developed to address Governor Murphy’s goal of making government work more effectively to enable inclusive
business growth, and is a strategic component of the Governor’s Stronger and Fairer Economic Plan. Developed in partnership with the New Jersey's
Business Action Center (NJBAC) and the Economic Development Authority (EDA), this initiative is intended to simplify and streamline access to the
information, resources, and services that aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners need to start, operate, and grow their business in the Garden State.
Designed as a multi-phase initiative, in the long term Business First Stop will: (1) create centralized digital resources that enable businesses to
access information pertaining to State requirements and services relevant to them; (2) transition paper-based filings to a digital format and streamline
processes for businesses to meet mandated regulatory and operational requirements; and (3) identify key modernizations of policy, law, and operations
to create more efficient and effective interactions between businesses and the State.
Shortly before the COVID-19 crisis, Business First Stop completed a comprehensive "discovery sprint" to plan the most effective next steps in remaking
the business experience. During the COVID-19 crisis, the initiative leveraged tools like live chat, as well as deploying a modern platform for
Business.NJ.gov to host a range of content moving forward.
New Jersey Career Network (NJCN) is an initiative developed in partnership with the New Jersey Department of
Labor and the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. NJCN is an intelligent platform that is backed by academic research,
validation by expert coaches, and user research that builds job seekers’ skills and confidence. NJCN guides job seekers through their day to-day job search
process in order to find a meaningful career by providing personalized structure, tools, resources, and access to interventions.
The beta version of New Jersey Career Network was released in January, 2020 and incorporates a modern, mobile-responsive website that will eventually guide
job-seekers to career services and digital tools such as virtual coaching, lifelong learning opportunities, and career management tools, as well as an expert
system to match job seekers and other users to the programs and services most relevant to them based on where they are in their job search journey.
The New Jersey Data for the American Dream (D4AD) initiative seeks to empower those in under-resourced communities with the right tools and guidance to get
a job, propel their careers, safeguard their progress, and limit unnecessary costs.
To that end, D4AD is creating a smart disclosure tool based on an expanded set of open education and training data. Lack of open data relating to training
and employment poses a challenge for job seekers, employers, and government regulators alike. It is not always clear if training programs address a job
seeker’s professional needs, whether the knowledge and skills acquired in the program are what employers need, or whether the program is accessible to
those who need it most.
The tool will address these challenges and will be available to the public, but will be specifically designed with and for people from disadvantaged
populations. The tool will exist as a standalone resource and also be linked to the New Jersey Career Network, the larger set of digital tools being
developed for job seekers in the Garden State.
D4AD is a collaborative effort between the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Office of Innovation, the Heldrich Center
for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, the New Jersey Council on Community Colleges, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and
the New Jersey Department of Education.
The Future of Work Task Force, which is chaired by Chief Innovation Officer Beth Simone Noveck, was formed in October 2018 with Governor Phil Murphy's signing
of Executive Order 41. The Task Force is charged with studying how technological innovation will impact the development of jobs and New Jersey’s economy and
producing a comprehensive policy roadmap to prepare and protect New Jerseyans from disruptive changes.
The Task Force's planned work includes: (1) determining which technologies will impact work in New Jersey, and in particular which industries and sectors will
be affected; (2) identifying the groups of residents likely to be most affected by these changes and how effects will vary based on differing demographics,
including gender, race, income, location, and education; (3) exploring the ways in which the same innovative technologies might improve workplace conditions,
create different jobs, and grow the State’s economy; and, (4) devising innovative, impactful, and cost-effective strategies that State government, universities,
private corporations, non-profits, and individuals can employ to prepare for these changes and ensure a prosperous and equitable future.
The Office of Innovation works with State departments and agencies to serve residents more effectively by improving public-facing digital products. At the
heart of every project we undertake is the core principle of user-centered design and a data driven approach that prioritizes the needs of New Jerseyans.
For instance, the Office of Innovation recently worked with the New Jersey Department of Labor (DOL) to build a
benefits eligibility tool that helps
New Jerseyans more easily discover and apply for benefit programs and financial assistance. The aim of the user-centered design project was to simplify
an individual’s interaction with DOL, streamline the process of applying for benefits, and ultimately better serve those in need.
Similarly, the Office of Innovation worked with the Department of Health to create an online COVID-19 symptom checker. In addition to providing New Jerseyans
with a self-assessment tool to help guide their decisions during the pandemic, the tool anonymously collected data, providing public health officials
valuable insight into where the virus may spread. Meanwhile, as part of the NJ Career Network and Business First Stop initiatives, our office is helping
to develop digital tools that offer the State a way to better support job seekers and businesses.
The Innovation ENJINE Challenge is an open innovation competition, launched in Spring 2019, to elicit unique perspectives and ideas to make government
more effective and efficient from those closest to it: State employees.
In the first stage, employees submitted ideas for new policies and practices that would result in direct cost savings, more streamlined processes, or
better services for the people of New Jersey. Over 2,000 participants joined, and the twenty most impactful and implementable proposals, as voted for by
their fellow employees, advanced to stage two.
In the second stage, employees were invited to compete - either as individuals or in teams - in crafting a plan for how to implement one of those twenty
winning ideas. In December 2019, the five winning plans were announced, and the Office of Innovation has been working closely with these teams to develop
and implement their proposals.
One proposal, the creation of a user-friendly chatbot to automate assistance on websites to combat long phone wait times and limited in-person opening
hours, has already been implemented on the NJ Department of Labor’s site.
The Office of Innovation collaborates with the Governor's Office, State agencies, and other public sector stakeholders to advance the development and implementation of policy. By leveraging an approach that is data-driven, human-centered, inclusionary, and open, the Office of Innovation is able to provide key stakeholders with an innovative outlook on policy design and delivery. Our work has spanned issue areas such as economic and workforce development, public health, technology governance, open data, autonomous vehicles, and more.
