Reston, Va. - Across the nation, state Governors are emphasizing job creation and government streamlining to bolster signs of revenue growth for 2011. A new report from Deltek's INPUT Business Unit, State of the States 2011: Initiatives and Implications, delves into the various state and local initiatives established by governors' recent state of the state addresses, and analyzes the impending IT implications for government vendors. This data serves as critical insight to government contractors and service providers who wish to align their business development strategies to fulfill governors' priorities, and remain competitive at the state contracting level.

"The elections of 2010 gave the governors and legislatures a new mandate to get state spending fixed as soon as possible," said Chris Dixon, manager of state and local industry analysis for Deltek's INPUT Business Unit. "While most states are still making budget cuts, you can hear a renewed confidence in the governors' voices. They are finally tackling the tough questions over state employees' compensation, layoffs, early retirement, and government streamlining that will open up funding for investment in citizen-facing services and the technology solutions that support them in the years to come."

As a persistent theme of governors' state of the state and budget addresses, the significance of job creation reflects optimism that the economy will see slow but steady growth in the coming year. Although the national trend is toward minimal state spending, a new group of governors has been given the mandate to get spending and revenues in order so that future growth can begin restoring critical services. The report notes that zero-based budgeting, education investments and government reorganization will be the key agenda items over the next two to four years, thus defining the business-development landscape. Prioritizing increases in specialized training opportunities for high school and community college students and matching graduates with employers is expected to foster economic growth. Likewise, as mirrored in the federal budget, governors' emphasis on streamlining operations will actually increase vendor and service provider opportunities to provide software upgrades, integrate databases, and boost the productivity of strained workforces.

The report also includes a searchable spreadsheet that lists specific state-by-state initiatives, giving vendors the opportunity to more easily align their business strategies by geographic location. Other topics analyzed in the report are:

- Gradual re-funding of Pre-K-12 educational programs and increased school choice
- Creation of online business one-stops to encourage job creation
- Increased use of performance management tools across all facets of government
- Reduced corrections costs via community release and diversion programs