The AAMVA community has the rare talent of multi-focus, with a field of vision that includes continuity of operations and expanding the ways customers can take care of their business remotely and securely. This strength is reflected in the summer issue of MOVE magazine.

With feet firmly planted in the present, the agencies responsible for driver and vehicle credentialling and highway safety enforcement remain in a state of readiness for unexpected emergencies and operational continuity for customers, regardless of working conditions (Emergency Resilience and Response).

Excited by what the future holds for their employees and customers, these same agencies are constantly scanning the horizon, seeking initiatives that expand remote access to services, such as mobile driver’s licenses that work securely across borders and industries (mDL Digital Trust Framework).

This capacity for multi-focus was apparent at recent in-person AAMVA conferences and meetings. Across the board, when chief administrators and their staff from the U.S. and Canada come together, great ideas are exchanged, issues are aired and solutions are shared, always with a focus on continuity of service, use of technology to improve access to efficient transactions and supporting employees in their service to customers, sometimes under the most dire circumstances.

Two years of operating under pandemic conditions have intensified this focus and agencies are applying their collective ingenuity to build on what worked and replace what no longer serves their purpose. It’s no easy task. They are continuously solving for positive change while meeting daily service demands with limited resources and under the threat of catastrophic events—human-made and natural.

Always looking for that light at the end of the tunnel, these talented leaders and staff are building remote and electronic credential application and issuance capabilities, initially intended for customer convenience, that also help backstop service disruptions when an individual or entire community suffers a disaster that wipes out their vital records.

The innovation and practical exchange of ideas does not happen in a vacuum. At the table are representatives of industry, the federal government, sister agencies and other stakeholders, who participate because they care about the solutions too—and are willing to drop competitive posture or bureaucracy to share what they know about what is possible.

Together, this community of talented, service-oriented, multi-focused people are not blinded by their success. They take it in stride with the failures and keep an endless list of challenges to overcome in their sights: aggressive, impaired and reckless driving, online fraud, employee retention and recruitment, to name a few.

Tell us if you have a challenge, a success or an idea you want us to know about. You can contact us with a direct call or an email through aamva.org/about/contact-us.