NASCA Recognizes Michigan and Deloitte with Excellence Through Collaboration Award

    LEXINGTON, KY, September 22, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) announced that the State of Michigan and Deloitte Consulting LLP have been awarded the association's 2022 Excellence Through Collaboration award at NASCA's Institute on Management and Leadership in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This award recognizes states and organizations that work together to implement a program, project or service that positively impacts its service to the state. The nominations are reviewed by experienced state Chief Administrators based on collaboration and value added to the state.

"It is an honor to be recognized by NASCA for the innovative and collaborative work done by our teams," said DTMB Acting Director Michelle Lange. "We are driven every day to develop new ways to make interactions with state government faster and more convenient. This was a true team effort that could not have been completed without the combined talents of both State of Michigan and Deloitte staff."

This year's recipient, Deloitte, collaborated with the State of Michigan to implement "Michigan Bridges: Automation to Enhance Worker Productivity," an innovative, no-touch application registration process Michigan leaders developed to tackle the surge in applications submitted by Michigan residents during the pandemic. Replacing the state's manual application registration process with auto registration helped to reduce workload, improve productivity, save thousands of staff hours, and accelerate the turnaround time for application processing.

"MDHHS aims to make it easier for Michigan residents to access the public assistance they need to take care of their families, achieve self-sufficiency and realize their dreams," said MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel. "Our collaboration with Deloitte enabled MDHHS to improve efficiency in the applications process, which means our staff have more time to spend helping clients."

Officials at Michigan's Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHS) and Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) worked together with Deloitte to implement auto registration for all programs accessed through the MI Bridges self-service portal including Cash Assistance (TANF), SNAP, Child Day Care, LIHEAP, and any combination of programs. This unique approach was possible due to a dedicated collaboration between MDHHS, DTMB and Deloitte, which included leveraging an extensive infrastructure of the MI Bridges integrated eligibility system and working with office staff through Human Centered Design to understand ways to improve their productivity.

"We could not be prouder of our collaboration with the State of Michigan to create an auto registration solution that strengthens Michiganders' access to important resources and optimizes productivity for state employees," said Hari Murthy, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "This system has enabled an unprecedented number of people to quickly and seamlessly apply for services – ranging from nutrition assistance to affordable housing."

About NASCA
Founded in 1976, the National Association of State Chief Administrators (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.

For more information NASCA's Awards Program, please visit us at nasca.org.

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