(December 31, 2025) Technology or “tech” is topical: the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt for explaining technology’s role in creating “innovation-driven economic growth.”

“Update office equipment particularly computers and fax machines, to improve efficiency and communications within the entire department.”

“A public report on priorities should be shared regularly in periodicals and the media, as well as be made available on the internet.”

Arkansas Policy Foundation, 1998 report, “Summary of Recommendations.”

“Algorithm use takes into consideration the ideal span in managerial archetype range closest to current span.”  McKinsey & Co. report to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, “Arkansas Forward Progress Report,” Dec. 15, 2024, p. 111.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has explained the importance of an organization’s culture in making government more efficient.  Tech is a key part of this process. An early Policy Foundation project, the Murphy Commission (1996-98), recommended the use of computers and the internet. The Policy Foundation’s Efficiency Project (2015-16) examined the potential use of algorithms to reduce state receivables. Tech’s role has advanced beyond those projects to include solutions that range from artificial intelligence to Zoom meetings.  On a practical note, the ’A-to-Z’ tech road can help achieve fiscal goals such as further tax cuts.

Better Services, Less Cost

Gov. Sanders launched the Arkansas Forward project “to set the standard for government efficiency and effectiveness through enterprise-wide operational change,” an October 9, 2024 memo explains.  Achieving such a goal “will include delivery of better state government services, at less cost, for all Arkansans.” The Sanders administration estimates $118 million in verified savings by year 2030.

Technology’s role is illustrated in an Arkansas Forward Excel spreadsheet that describes savings at all 15 state agencies.

The Department of Agriculture is using automation to “increase seedling production … with freed resources.” Software automation also allows the agency to achieve “170 hours of workload reduction a month at an average rate of $33 per hour plus (a) 22.97% match for fringe benefits …” The agency also developed a Livestock application (app) “inhouse and savings for year one are calculated by cost of previous software: $45,000 minus development $24,000 plus workforce savings of 4,410 hours annually at an average rate of $24.95 per hour plus (a) 22.97% match for fringe benefits …” The action saves nearly $140,000 in year one, with savings increasing in future years.

The Department of Corrections now has “the capability for offender fees to be paid electronically, which reduces paper copies, actual trips to the bank to deposit them, and ensures offenders accounts are credited properly.”

The Department of Education “transitioned to a new email exchange resulting in a savings of $44 on each ADE user account by establishing a direct ADE Microsoft Full Tenant for 1,400 accounts.” The agency also “moved to hosting

… under the Office of Information Technology combining and reducing expenditures.” ADE reports $3.1 million in annual savings from these actions. The agency also “developed applications andinformation system solutions for 15 programs, including web portals. The merger of the Arkansas School for the Blind and Arkansas School for the Deaf included savings for fiber relocation costs, cell phones, copiers, and cable.

The Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism used automation to “reduce manual formatting” in its mailing service fulfillment program. The agency reports, “Savings are calculated by five hours a week at an average rate of $17 per hour plus (a) 22.97% match for fringe benefits.”

All 15 agencies and Gov. Sanders’ office reported $1.4 million in total annual savings from “removal of unused phone lines resulting in recurring savings.”

Focus on the Future

The financial weekly Barron’s observed recently that private business is quicker to adapt than government. Arkansas-based Walmart, the “world’s biggest retailer has already incorporated plenty of cutting-edge technology in its business, including AI tied to product discovery and recommendations.” (“Walmart Goes AI.” Barron’s. October 20, 2025, p. 30) The ongoing challenge is to expand such an organizational culture within Arkansas state government.

Tech’s ability to increase state government efficiency has grown since the Policy Foundation was founded in 1995. In the late 1990s, the Foundation supported a recommendation by Deloitte & Touche and the Department of Finance and Administration that state government “purchase and install” a new “computer accounting system.” Today, multiple systems are delivering taxpayer savings at multiple agencies. Thirty years ago, a Foundation recommendation to place public school report cards “on the internet where possible” was considered by some critics to be impractical. Report cards did not exist and most state government was offline. Today, tech apps are used every day by Arkansans.

Tech is forward-looking. There is a cost to living in the past. Policymakers can debate arcane points about the alleged superiority of the Dvorak keyboard, patented in 1936; or its older, more-widely used alternative, the 1874 Qwerty panel. Or policymakers can focus on the future. Developments in early 21st century Arkansas suggest policymakers are focused on the future. Government is in the early stages of traveling the ‘A-to-Z’ tech road to increased efficiency.

–Greg Kaza