SAN RAMON, Calif., Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Accela, the leading provider of cloud-based SaaS solutions for government, wrapped up Accelarate last week, its annual customer conference, that featured insights from government technology thought leaders, new research on emerging regulation, and the announcement of Accela’s Trendsetter Awards that honor public sector innovators.

With a focus on “Governing the Future,” keynote presentations centered on the road ahead and how governments can leverage technology to better serve their communities. Speakers included CareJourney President Aneesh Chopra, who served as the nation’s first U.S. chief technology officer and as Virginia’s former secretary of technology; Atlanta’s Chief Resilience Officer Amol Naik; e.Republic Chief Innovation Officer Dustin Haisler; Microsoft ISV Architect Evangelist Murray Gordon; and Accela executives. Colorado’s Governor John Hickenlooper also welcomed attendees to the event and invited them to Accelarate 2019, to be held in Denver, Colorado.

During his remarks Haisler unveiled the findings of a new national research study conducted by the Center for Digital Government’s e.Republic Labs, a program by the public sector media company to explore new innovations in government. The report spotlighted where government leaders expect to see new regulations, the technologies fueling this change and how cloud solutions can help state and local governments adapt to such industry shifts.

“Over the past year our customers leveraged technology in new ways to better deliver services to their communities, and the Trendsetter Awards highlight outstanding agencies and civic heroes who are working to improve the way their government functions every day,” said Jonathon Knight, Accela’s chief customer officer. “The new research confirms what we have been seeing for some time, that governments should embrace technology and govern the future by shaping it themselves. From short-term rentals to cannabis, and planning to inspections, Accela is at the forefront of providing solutions that enable communities to thrive.”

For the new national study, researchers surveyed over 125 state and local government professionals about the impact of new and emerging technologies and policy arenas.

The research found that new regulations will likely have a sweeping impact across a broad swath of government functions. Nearly half of respondents said they expect inspections, oversight and permitting to be affected. In fact, the impact of regulatory changes are expected to extend into compliance and licensing, business development and citizen satisfaction.

In particular, governments are concerned with emerging technology and emerging industries. 84 percent of legislators reported that cannabis is already regulated or expect it will be regulated in the next two years. 71 percent of legislators reported short-term rentals are already regulated or expect it will be regulated in the next two years. As a leader in emerging technology, earlier this year Accela launched the Accela Civic Application for Cannabis Regulation and the Accela Civic Application for Short-Term Rental Registration that provide governments customizable, easy-to-implement solutions that help government agencies better manage the challenges with these new regulatory spaces.

The research brief is available on the Accela Insights blog here. Full results of the research study are scheduled to be published in November.

The conference closed out by announcing the winners of this year’s “Trendsetter Awards,” which highlight governments and individuals who are leveraging technology to improve delivery of services in their communities. As governments strive with the accelerating pace of technological change, Accela was pleased to acknowledge the Trendsetters below.

Agency Winners

• Citizen Experience, Maricopa County, AZ
• Emerging Regulation, City and County Of Denver, CO
• Digital Service Transformation, Manatee County, FL
• Next Gen Economic Development, City Of Omaha, NE
• Government in the Cloud, City of Mesa, AZ
• Business Licensing Accelerator, Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates

Individual Winners

• Civic Hero: Building Communities, Stan Reichert, City of Oklahoma City, OK
• Civic Hero: Growing Businesses, Chad Blahak, City of Lincoln, NE
• Civic Hero: Protecting Citizens, Anthony Valdez, South Metro Fire Rescue, CO
• Accelarate 2018 Best Presentation, Real, Real-time Permit Approval: Chad Blahak, City of Lincoln NE; Daniel Sampson, Byrne Software Technologies, Inc.

About Accela

Accela provides market-leading SaaS solutions that empower state and local governments to build thriving communities, grow businesses and protect citizens. Powered by Microsoft Azure, Accela’s open and flexible technology helps agencies address specific needs today, while ensuring they are prepared for any emerging or complex challenges in the future. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with additional offices around the world. For more information, visit www.accela.com.

A full list of the Trendsetter Awards winners are below.

Agency winners

Citizen Experience, Maricopa County, AZ
Recognizing an agency that has radically improved the delivery of government services to its citizens by creating a consumer-like, citizen-friendly online experience to process requests, protect residents, identify problems and resolve issues rapidly.

Emerging Regulation, City and County Of Denver, CO
Recognizing an agency that has embraced the challenge of new and emerging regulations, while promoting innovation within its community to encourage economic growth.

Digital Service Transformation, Manatee County, FL
Recognizing an agency that has revolutionized complex processes through automation within a digital environment to improve efficiencies and allow for a proactive approach in the way it serves its citizens.

Next Gen Economic Development, City Of Omaha, NE
Recognizing a high performing agency that has improved the experience for requesting and obtaining business and occupational licenses, helping grow the economic development within its community.

Government in the Cloud, City of Mesa, AZ
Recognizing an agency that has transformed from on premises to SaaS to serve its citizens through the cloud by delivering added resources and services to residence with increased accessibility at an accelerated rate.

Business Licensing Accelerator, Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
Recognizing an agency who managed thousands of license types and is plugged into other government agencies using Accela technology.

Individual Winners

Civic Hero: Building Communities
Stan Reichert, City of Oklahoma City, OK
Recognizing a government professional who has effectively leveraged Accela’s Building, Planning and/or Service Request Management solution to grow their community by implementing innovative efficiencies within their day-to-day functions of reviewing, processing and approving citizen requests.

Civic Hero: Growing Businesses
Chad Blahak, City of Lincoln, NE
Recognizing a government professional who has effectively leveraged Accela’s Business Licensing, Occupational Licensing, Alcoholic Beverage Control and/or Cannabis Regulation solution to help businesses maneuver the complexities of becoming compliant quickly and efficiently.

Civic Hero: Protecting Citizens
Anthony Valdez, South Metro Fire Rescue, CO
Recognizing a government professional who has effectively leveraged Accela’s Public Safety and/or Environmental Health solution to protect the public health and safety of its citizens, while creating a high-demand place to live and do business.

Accelarate 2018 Best Presentation
Real, Real-time Permit Approval: Chad Blahak, City of Lincoln NE;  Daniel Sampson, Byrne Software Technologies, Inc.
Attendees recognized this breakout session as the best presentation during the event. It highlighted how Accela’s Citizen Access tool, can help government to automate tasks and save staff time through a real-time permit approval process.

Contact: Jason Shueh, (925) 659-3200, [email protected]

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SOURCE Accela