In 2018, New Jersey launched the State Office of Innovation, which this January became codified in law as the New Jersey Innovation Authority — the first state to create a permanent Cabinet-level digital services team. During his time as CIO over the past two years, Dave Cole has worked to improve the lives of New Jersey residents through the use of data, collective intelligence, agile technology and tools such as AI. As technology becomes increasingly important to delivering government services and solving public problems, what has the agency accomplished so far and what can other states learn from it?

Technical.ly CEO and cofounder Chris Wink is joined by New Jersey CIO Dave Cole for a conversation about what it means to have a codified and permanent state-level digital services team, how NJ is leveraging tech and AI to be more efficient and effective, what the private and public sectors can learn from each other, and more.

Recorded April 15, 2026.