Information is a critical asset of RIDE and the State of Rhode Island. It must be managed from an enterprise perspective to ensure accuracy, integrity and availability.  This includes developing a methodology or structure for sharing data across functional, technical and organizational boundaries. Recent changes in Federal requirements for the handling, the transmission and storing of data have gone a long way in defining many of the objectives of this valuable asset. RIDE must act as custodians or stewards of the data and facilitate the sharing and reuse of the data.  Only the data necessary to support the mission of the RIDE should be collected. Data should be collected once and used many times. Duplication increases the likelihood of erroneous or questionable data.

This initiative is an important part of our overall strategy to eliminate the costly duplication of information and effort, ensure accuracy of information by using Smart Forms, improve productivity by introducing a “Virtual Gateway” with a custom “SMS” system in place, and most importantly to reduce the staff stress associated with dealing with, seemingly endless, file cabinets of paper.