DAS Attends NASCA Conference

(Far Right: Alice Pritchard, Ph.D., Director of Workforce Development and Strategic Initiatives at DAS participates in a discussion panel.)

I recently had the opportunity to represent DAS at the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) Institute on Leadership and Management in Indianapolis, IN. NASCA is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) association representing chief administrative officers (CAOs)—public officials in charge of departments that provide support services such as human resources, information technology, procurement, risk management, and general administrative services to other state agencies. NASCA provides a forum for CAOs to exchange information and learn new ideas from each other and private sector partners. NASCA engages states in transforming government operations through the power of shared knowledge, operational excellence and thought leadership. 

This fall’s institute focused in part on workforce development strategies, and I was excited to learn about efforts underway in the administrative offices in North Carolina, Kansas and Texas to support internships, apprenticeships and “returnships” for those who have been out of the workforce.

States like Indiana, Texas and South Dakota shared their work to promote retention through new onboarding and leadership development programs. Our keynote speakers shared insights on preparing employees to manage change and crises and bringing together many generations in a single workforce. I also had the opportunity to highlight DAS’ marketing campaign and FMLA automation initiatives as part of a panel on employee recruitment, engagement, and retention with representatives from Accenture, Texas, Michigan, and North Carolina. There were lots of discussions with other states on their procurement, construction management, fleet services, human resources, cyber security and information technology activities and several sessions on the use of generative AI in government.

I look forward to sharing what I learned with my colleagues at DAS!

Alice Pritchard