Detroit CIO Art Thompson breaks down how cities actually buy tech — RFPs, pilots, IT's role, and what gets vendors rejected.

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Timestamps:
00:00 Cold open: why government deals are a long-haul game
00:52 Meet Art Thompson, Detroit CIO & CISO
01:39 How a family tip led Art into city government
02:46 A day in the life of a city CIO
03:44 Working with the mayor and department leaders
04:44 When IT should get involved in a project
05:27 Does IT have veto power over a purchase?
06:13 Why integrations are a top priority
06:34 HIPAA, CJIS, and the compliance patchwork of government IT
07:19 Who owns integration work: city or vendor?
07:37 The rise of shadow IT
09:25 The "two wins": technical win vs. procurement win
11:14 How departments and IT divide responsibility
12:38 How Detroit pressure-tests vendors in demos
13:11 Pilots, proof of value, and why timing matters
14:05 How a 30-day RFP pilot actually works
14:38 Budget basics: department vs. enterprise purchases
16:13 IT's expanded role in multi-department deals
16:48 Cooperative contracts: NASPO, Sourcewell, Omnia
18:05 Detroit's RFP threshold and ordinance rules
18:29 How long an RFP cycle really takes
19:08 What happens after the award: city council process
20:24 Mapping the full procurement timeline
20:45 Contract negotiation: how long it takes
21:06 Toughest contract terms: indemnification & termination
21:50 When the city accepts less-favorable terms
22:21 How often Detroit negotiates with multiple vendors
22:21 Should agencies merge multiple RFPs into one?
24:25 OEMs vs. resellers/SIs: Art's preference
26:18 The best (and worst) way for vendors to engage
27:33 Why low RFP win rates make sense to Art
29:47 How early vendor meetings quietly shape RFPs
30:59 SaaS vs. capital vs. consumption: which model wins
32:11 Why credit-based AI pricing makes Art nervous
34:16 Per-user caps: do they solve the problem?
34:42 Revenue-aligned vendor models (the DMV kiosk example)
36:11 Case study: the Detroit body camera program
36:54 The DOJ consent decree that started it all
38:17 Officer pushback and how it was managed
40:48 Inside the body cam procurement and pilot
42:01 Installing and testing on real squad cars
43:06 How the testing team evolved over time
44:04 Pricing transparency during vendor evaluation
44:42 How body cams improved de-escalation
46:04 From body cams to the Real-Time Crime Center
47:45 Project Greenlight: private camera integration
48:03 Where AI fits into video review today
49:17 Data licensing and what the city can analyze
50:41 Inside the Real-Time Crime Center
51:36 How RTCC connects to 911 and dispatch
54:09 Setting the agenda with the police chief
55:36 Piloting new tech inside an existing contract
56:09 IT org growth: 2016 to today
57:34 Detroit's geospatial and GIS data initiatives
59:28 Where AI ranks among CIO priorities now
01:00:13 Detroit's AI guardrails and vendor risk reviews
01:02:02 How Art prioritizes which AI projects to pursue
01:03:22 AI red flags: what gets a vendor rejected
01:04:24 Art's biggest mindset shift after 10 years in gov
01:06:08 Closing thoughts

Detroit CIO Art Thompson breaks down how cities actually buy tech — RFPs, pilots, IT's role, and what gets vendors rejected.

Timestamps:

00:00 Cold open: why government deals are a long-haul game

00:52 Meet Art Thompson, Detroit CIO & CISO

01:39 How a family tip led Art into city government

02:46 A day in the life of a city CIO

03:44 Working with the mayor and department leaders

04:44 When IT should get involved in a project

05:27 Does IT have veto power over a purchase?

06:13 Why integrations are a top priority

06:34 HIPAA, CJIS, and the compliance patchwork of government IT

07:19 Who owns integration work: city or vendor?

07:37 The rise of shadow IT

09:25 The "two wins": technical win vs. procurement win

11:14 How departments and IT divide responsibility

12:38 How Detroit pressure-tests vendors in demos

13:11 Pilots, proof of value, and why timing matters

14:05 How a 30-day RFP pilot actually works

14:38 Budget basics: department vs. enterprise purchases

16:13 IT's expanded role in multi-department deals

16:48 Cooperative contracts: NASPO, Sourcewell, Omnia

18:05 Detroit's RFP threshold and ordinance rules

18:29 How long an RFP cycle really takes

19:08 What happens after the award: city council process

20:24 Mapping the full procurement timeline

20:45 Contract negotiation: how long it takes

21:06 Toughest contract terms: indemnification & termination

21:50 When the city accepts less-favorable terms

22:21 How often Detroit negotiates with multiple vendors

22:21 Should agencies merge multiple RFPs into one?

24:25 OEMs vs. resellers/SIs: Art's preference

26:18 The best (and worst) way for vendors to engage

27:33 Why low RFP win rates make sense to Art

29:47 How early vendor meetings quietly shape RFPs

30:59 SaaS vs. capital vs. consumption: which model wins

32:11 Why credit-based AI pricing makes Art nervous

34:16 Per-user caps: do they solve the problem?

34:42 Revenue-aligned vendor models (the DMV kiosk example)

36:11 Case study: the Detroit body camera program

36:54 The DOJ consent decree that started it all

38:17 Officer pushback and how it was managed

40:48 Inside the body cam procurement and pilot

42:01 Installing and testing on real squad cars

43:06 How the testing team evolved over time

44:04 Pricing transparency during vendor evaluation

44:42 How body cams improved de-escalation

46:04 From body cams to the Real-Time Crime Center

47:45 Project Greenlight: private camera integration

48:03 Where AI fits into video review today

49:17 Data licensing and what the city can analyze

50:41 Inside the Real-Time Crime Center

51:36 How RTCC connects to 911 and dispatch

54:09 Setting the agenda with the police chief

55:36 Piloting new tech inside an existing contract

56:09 IT org growth: 2016 to today

57:34 Detroit's geospatial and GIS data initiatives

59:28 Where AI ranks among CIO priorities now

01:00:13 Detroit's AI guardrails and vendor risk reviews

01:02:02 How Art prioritizes which AI projects to pursue

01:03:22 AI red flags: what gets a vendor rejected

01:04:24 Art's biggest mindset shift after 10 years in gov

01:06:08 Closing thoughts

Glenn Caldwell shares how Northville Township funds $45M projects, negotiates 5 unions, and runs lean government without raising taxes.

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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:35 Glenn's Origin Story: Co-op at 16, Straight to Government
3:26 The Arc of Township Budgets: Pre-Recession to Recovery
4:41 How a Township's Budget Works: Revenue Sources
5:16 Shared Services & Intergovernmental Agreements
9:02 Roads, the County, and Navigating What You Don't Own
11:28 Public Works: Water, Sewer & the $4M Water Tower
14:56 Procurement Philosophy: Why Low Bid Isn't Always Right
17:13 Township Governance: Charters, Ordinances & State Law
18:29 The Central Services Complex: $45M Without Raising Taxes
21:55 Capital Budgeting & the 6-Year Improvement Plan
29:05 Leadership Philosophy: Hire Well, Then Get Out of the Way
31:37 Managing Directors: Weekly 1-on-1s & Accountability
34:35 Five Unions: How Northville Negotiates Without Attorneys
42:41 Discipline & Progressive Counseling in Local Government
45:54 Leadership Transitions & Staff Turnover
47:59 Public Sector Incentives: What Actually Drives Performance
50:46 The Government Value Proposition: Pensions, Benefits & Balance
52:32 How Government Pensions Actually Work
55:06 AI in Local Government: Efficiency, Governance & Data Privacy

For this episode of In Pursuit, we sat down with Jim Weaver — former State CIO of Washington, CIO and Cabinet Secretary of North Carolina, CTO of Pennsylvania, and past president of NASCIO.

If you've ever wondered why a deal that seemed solid just stalled, or why timing your outreach to a state matters as much as your pitch — Jim explains the mechanics that most vendors never see from the inside.

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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:11 Meet Jim Weaver: 37 Years on the Buying Side
01:57 What a State CIO Actually Does (It's Not Running IT)
05:30 The State IT Org Chart: Centralized vs. Decentralized
11:11 Trade-Offs of Centralization — and Why Cybersecurity Is the Exception
13:39 Growing Up in Human Services: Why Business Context Matters
17:02 How Agency IT and Central IT Learn to Coexist
20:08 Taking Over Washington State IT: An Agency Graded F-Minus
25:38 Building Trust With Your Team After a Turnaround
28:00 How Initiatives Get From Idea to Funded Budget
31:20 Stack Ranking Projects Across an Entire State
36:05 What Happens to Initiatives Under a Continuing Resolution
40:50 The Annual State Budget Cycle, Step by Step
43:22 How Federal Budget Uncertainty Cascades Into State IT
45:11 How Vendors and Lobbyists Fit Into the Budget Cycle
48:49 The Mainframe-as-a-Service Deal That Saved Washington Millions
54:39 Mainframes in 2024: Still Relevant? GenAI and COBOL
57:17 NextGen 911 in North Carolina: Building Statewide Resilience
01:00:14 Hurricane Helene: When the System Got Tested for Real
01:03:16 AI in Government: Cost of Ownership and the Human-in-the-Loop
01:09:23 Closing Thoughts

Michigan's Secretary of State turned around the DMV and broke voter turnout records. Here's the data-driven playbook she used to modernize government.

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00:00 Intro
00:35 Meet Jocelyn Benson — from civil rights to running Michigan's DMV
04:32 What was actually broken at the DMV
07:35 Was it a funding problem, a process problem, or neglect?
09:08 Why government incentives don't work like the private sector
12:28 Moving transactions online: from 28% to 60%
15:27 Kiosks in grocery stores — meeting citizens where they are
17:41 Government tech procurement: the right way to structure a vendor contract
19:19 What didn't work: why one-size-fits-all solutions fail in government
21:06 Building a feedback loop with an Office of Continuous Innovation
22:10 Michigan election security: from 34th to 2nd in the nation
24:43 How to distill a complex goal into two words: "turnout up"
25:22 Annual strategic planning — the one thing no other state agency does
27:37 Why Jocelyn is running for governor: costs down, wages up, rights protected
29:10 What it means to invest in "place" — and why Michigan's talent is leaving
30:51 Clean energy, AI, and the economic case for Michigan's future
34:23 Closing vision: high-speed rail and keeping Michigan's kids home

Milton Dohoney, Ann Arbor City Administrator, shares 40 years of public service insight on how cities buy tech, what vendors get wrong, and how government really works.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:21 Milton's 40-year career across five cities
01:34 Council-manager vs. strong mayor government
02:41 Writing "It Always Begins With Leadership"
04:06 The four layers of city law: charter, ordinances, resolutions & policy
06:09 Who's the "Supreme Court" for a city?
07:46 How charter amendments get proposed and approved
09:23 Administrative regulations and how policy gets changed
13:50 When well-intentioned rules create unintended consequences
15:27 How Milton shortened council meetings from 7 hours to 3
18:57 How cities buy technology: the ideal procurement process end to end
22:56 The role of finance in a tech purchase
23:38 When to bring in procurement (and when it's too early)
25:16 Co-op contracts and piggybacking on existing RFPs
28:21 Budget reality: what happens when you don't have the money
31:40 How grants factor into purchasing decisions
33:45 Vendor win rates and the myth of the predetermined bid
36:00 The #1 mistake vendors make: going straight to the city administrator
38:06 When it does make sense to reach out to the city administrator
41:31 When should a department actually pull in procurement?
42:57 Do your homework: why 50 of 60 vendor emails get deleted
45:43 Travel approval and bureaucratic sign-off chains
47:17 How Ann Arbor builds its brand without local TV
49:11 The city's relationship with the University of Michigan
52:32 Practical advice for vendors selling into local government
56:27 The RFP cutoff: when vendor engagement must stop
57:58 What happens when a vendor implementation fails
59:37 Where to find Milton's book

Former Michigan CPO Jim Colangelo breaks down how government procurement really works — and what vendors must know before the RFP ever drops.

Timestamps:
00:00 The Triangle of Customers in Procurement
00:51 Introduction — Jim Colangelo's Background
01:55 20 Years in Procurement: What's Stayed the Same
03:34 Who Are Procurement's Real Customers?
05:05 How JetBlue Shaped Jim's Customer Service Philosophy
06:55 Public vs. Private Sector Procurement: The Real Differences
09:41 Why Working in Public Sector Is a Privilege
11:04 Why Government Procurement Takes Longer
13:13 The Real Sales Cycle: Rec to Check
14:43 Vendor Management & Stewardship of Taxpayer Dollars
16:29 Best Value vs. Lowest Bid
18:00 Can You Shortcut the Government Procurement Process?
19:55 The Formula — and Why Everyone's Is Different
21:30 RFP Thresholds and How Co-ops Work
24:35 What the Ideal Vendor Sales Cycle Looks Like
27:35 How Procurement Plans 18 Months Ahead
30:07 When the Business Knows Exactly What It Wants
31:39 Bid Protests: What Happens and Who's Accountable
34:44 How Scoring Committees Work
37:46 Small & Diverse Businesses in Government Procurement
39:10 Teaming & Subcontracting Strategies for Small Businesses
42:56 How to Change a Procurement Law or Code
46:30 How Jim Turned Around Michigan's Procurement Office
50:07 Leadership Lessons: Listening Before Leading
51:41 Simplifying Complex Organizations
57:36 AI in Procurement: What Should Change, What Should Stay
1:00:03 How to Break Into Government Sales — Jim's #1 Advice
1:01:41 The Biggest Mistake Vendors Make: Going Around Procurement

Rick Snyder, Michigan's 48th Governor, shares how he built MEDC, led the nation in cybersecurity, and why AI is government's next big frontier.

Michigan’s Deputy Treasurer on distressed communities, trust, and the evolving landscape of emergency management laws.

Detroit CPO breaks down what vendors often misunderstand about government procurement and how cities really buy.