North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory announced on Monday that his Innovation Center (iCenter) had saved taxpayers $5 million on information technology (IT) upgrades to the state’s fisheries information network.
The iCenter, which was established by McCrory in 2013, enables state agencies to try technology solutions before making substantial investments in them.
“This is exactly the type of success story I hoped for and envisioned when we opened the Innovation Center,” McCrory said. “Through the iCenter, we are identifying challenges, creating solutions and transforming the way state government delivers products and services to the citizens of North Carolina. North Carolina state government is learning to do more with less.”
Taxpayers saved $5 million in IT upgrades for the fisheries information network that is maintained by the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. The in-house network is used to sell commercial fishing licenses and to issue permits, as well as to store commercial harvest statistics, marine patrol warnings, citations, shellfish leases and other records.
“Without the exposure to different options through the iCenter, we may have spent more than necessary or the project wouldn’t have gotten off the ground,” Tim Ladd, the project manager at the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, said.
The new fisheries information network is currently under development and is expected to be fully functional later this year.