How one of America’s largest counties scaled civic innovation through strategic vision, platform integration, and unified leadership
When you think of Las Vegas, transformation might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But beyond the bright lights and bustling casinos, Clark County, Nevada has been quietly orchestrating one of the most impressive government modernization initiatives in the country.
In our inaugural podcast episode, “Unified for Impact: How Clark County Modernized Government Services at Scale,” we sat down with Clark County CIO Bob Leek to explore how strategic vision, platform integration, and a substantial $40 million investment are revolutionizing government services at unprecedented scale.
The Challenge: Serving One of America’s Most Complex Counties
Clark County isn’t just any local government—it’s a massive operation that rivals major corporations in scope and complexity. As CIO Bob Leek explains: “We are big, and we are complex. 2.3 million people live here. We have 90,000 businesses that are here within the county’s borders. Our county is 8,000 square miles. That’s the size of New Jersey for those that are familiar with geographic placement. Makes us about the 11th largest county in the country of the 3,000 counties.”
With 40 departments and 8,500 employees, Clark County processes a staggering $2.4 billion annually in county services while collecting about $12 billion on behalf of the state and cities. The county also manages over 400 events per year with more than 5,000 attendees each—from Formula 1 and the Super Bowl to countless conferences that make Las Vegas the “conference capital of the world.”
The Foundation: Starting with Vision, Not Technology
Rather than jumping straight into technology solutions, Leek’s approach began with something more fundamental: a unified vision. “We felt that it was really important that before we start talking about all the technology investments and the complexity of how to support all of that, that we start with a unified vision about what Clark County is and what we stand for,” he explains.
Clark County’s new motto, “Together for Better,” centers all work around seven strategic priorities. For Leek, this strategic alignment is “gold” for a CIO because “rather than just invest in anything and invest in solutions that are available because the technology is available, we start with what is that unified sense of the better future state look like and then what investments can we make in order to get to that end outcome.”
The Strategy: Simple Frameworks for Complex Challenges
Leek’s tactical approach for new CIOs is refreshingly straightforward: “Let’s keep it simple.” His initial investment focuses on understanding the current state—the technology stack, relationships, and pain points—while simultaneously crafting “some sense of a better future state.”
This approach led to Clark County’s one-page technology strategic plan, available on their website, with three simple objectives:
- How to provide support to the public
- How to create the capability for all departments to use technology for service delivery
- How to create a great place to work
“Those tactical first steps are to organize oneself into a framework that can then be repeated and used and really provide that buy-in and that impetus on the parts of county staff to say ‘Boy, that sounds like a great future state. I want to be part of that,'” Leek notes.
Building Buy-In: The Scientific Method Applied to Technology Leadership
Leek brings a unique perspective to CIO leadership, applying scientific principles to technology strategy. “I learn the scientific method. I have a hypothesis and then I do a lot of testing,” he explains. Rather than traditional IT-focused strategic plans, he developed what he calls “almost more like a capabilities strategy.”
When meeting with departments, his approach is simple but effective: “Would you have any issue improving what we do to the public, creating a better way for your staff to use technology to deliver services and have a great place to work. And so, you can imagine that no one’s going to say, ‘Oh, no, that’s not what I want.’”
Measuring What Matters: Context-Driven KPIs
One of Leek’s most innovative approaches involves simplifying success metrics. When departments present him with dozens of metrics, he asks: “If at the end of the day you had to boil this down to just some simple metrics, what would they be?”
For example, business licensing simplified their 73 different metrics down to just two: “How long does it take to issue a business license?” and “How long does it take at every step in the process?” This approach recognizes that “issuing a business license to the Las Vegas Raiders is a lot different than issuing a business license to a beauty salon that someone’s trying to open as the dream of their family business.”
Different departments require different success measures. The coroner measures success by “how quickly they can let a family member know what the cause of death might have been.” Juvenile justice measures success not by how well they manage those on parole and probation, but “how do we prevent kids from committing crime?”
The Future: AI as a “How,” Not a “What”
Looking ahead, Leek sees AI as a tool for improving existing services rather than an end in itself. “We see AI as a how and not a what. So, we’re not doing AI. We deliver hundreds of services to the public. How can we apply AI?” The key question becomes: “If applying AI improves that, we should consider that as an investment that we make.”
Lessons for Every Agency
While Clark County operates at massive scale, Leek’s principles apply to organizations of all sizes:
- Start with Vision: “The future can be better, but you have to be intentional around that. You have to define a future state, and you have to do that together with the people that deliver the services.”
- Embrace Your Role: “We’re not a county government that’s an IT company trying to deliver services. We each have a role to play in this.”
- Focus on What Matters: “There is. I have never encountered an idea that wasn’t a good idea. Most of the time it’s not the right idea at this time.”
- Choose Your Architecture: “I’m not saying that you should be a Microsoft shop or a Google shop… decide who you’re going to be and then get really good at being that.”
A Golden Era for Government Technology Leaders
Leek concludes with an optimistic perspective: “There is no better time to be in government as a technology leader because finally the availability of technology and applying it to the services that we provide, it’s there and the options that are available and kind of weaving that together into a technology stack and having an architecture.”
Clark County’s transformation demonstrates that with the right vision, strategic alignment, and platform approach, even the most complex government organizations can achieve remarkable modernization. Their $40 million investment isn’t just about new technology—it’s about reimagining what’s possible when government services are designed around the people they serve.
For agencies ready to embark on their own transformation journey, Clark County’s experience offers both inspiration and a practical roadmap. As Leek reminds us, success starts with a simple question: what could better look like?
Subscribe to Civic Innovators on YouTube or Spotify.
Ready to explore how your agency can follow Clark County’s path to transformation? Book a demo to learn about how Accela’s platform can support your modernization goals and help you deliver the citizen experience your community deserves.
