WASHINGTON, D.C.; June 25, 2002 – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) School of Architecture and Planning and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today presented the Digital Government Awards in six categories during the E-Gov Conference in Washington, D.C.
This year’s award recipients include the:
U.S. Department of Defense,Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support, in the Federal Government Innovator category;
- Kansas Department of Human Resources, Kansasjoblink.com in the State Government Innovator category;
- Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Technology Services, eGovernment Office, www.emontgomery.org, in the Local Government Innovator category;
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University of Washington Catalyst Initiative in the Higher Education Innovator category;
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State of Rhode Island, Department of Administration, R.I.Gov – E-Payment Engine in the Pilot/Prototype Innovator category; and
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Ron Thornburgh, Kansas Secretary of State, for the Agent of Change Award.
This third annual awards presentation made by MIT and Accenture recognized best practices in digital government and higher education. The Digital Government Award recipients were selected from approximately 125 finalists from across the United States. The awards were presented in federal, state and local government categories to honor best practices in existing services delivered via the Internet. Awards were also presented for higher education, most innovative pilot or prototype program, and the new category of Agent of Change that recognizes outstanding individual contributions.
Daniel Greenwood, director of the MIT eCommerce Architecture program, and Stan Gutkowski, an Accenture managing partner, presented the awards to this year’s honorees before nearly 1,000 government and industry executives.
“These organizations have moved beyond mere integration of existing services that are transported onto the Internet,” said Greenwood. "Now they are innovatively extending their service-delivery capabilities with customer-centered designs and tools that enable multi-channel interactions with constituents.”
“We congratulate this year’s award winners for their innovative spirit and superior accomplishments,” said Gutkowski. “We introduced the Agent of Change category this year to recognize individual leadership and vision. Our inaugural winner has demonstrated a keen understanding that transforming government comes not from simply moving services online, but from redesigning the organization and processes to put citizens at the center of the service-delivery model.”
Award Winners:
Federal: The Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support program (DMLSS) was recognized for accomplishing nothing less than a complete reengineering of the $2.5 billion medical logistics supply chain through the use of eCommerce. The DMLSS provides material, facility, equipment and technology management capabilities, employing state-of-the-art eCommerce, hand-held wireless remote, and web-enabled technology to achieve a new standard in medical logistics across the military services. The program relies on eCommerce and web-based technology to speed delivery of pharmaceutical and medical/surgical items to customers, negating the need to stock large inventories at depots and military treatment facilities. The site is located at www.tricare.osd.mil/dmlss.
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State: In response to a dramatic rise in unemployment services requests the Kansas Department of Human Resources launched new Unemployment Insurance services on its website, KansasJobLink (www.kansasjoblink.com). The services include the first Unemployment Insurance program that provides claimants and employers with multiple customer service channels to receive service from the Department. The program incorporates Internet and Interactive Voice Response self-service, intelligent call center routing and an integrated customer relationship management desktop. The program also connects the unemployment claims and job search processes with a direct link into KansasJobLink. The new self-service online filing and Interactive Voice Response options now better enable customers to serve themselves, reducing call center workloads and increasing the utilization of call center technologies.
- Local: The Department of Technology Services in Montgomery County, Maryland, was recognized for its proactive approach in developing a multi-channel eGovernment service program designed to meet constituent needs. The eGovernment Office provides a variety of ways for citizens to obtain services and communicate with multiple government agencies. Primary touch points for the eGovernment program include a web portal (www.eMontgomery.org), kiosks, and interactive voice response systems, in addition to the traditional walk-up service counter. The portal provides information and more than 180 time and expense saving services for citizens, students, businesses, tourists, and other government organizations, all with a consistent look and feel.
- Higher Education: The University of Washington’s Catalyst Initiative is a campus-wide integrated array of resources, training, tools, templates, and support designed to help University educators make effective use of technology in their teaching. Led by the UW’s Educational Partnerships & Learning Technologies and built upon the robust and ubiquitous infrastructure provided by UW’s Computing & Communications, the initiative consists of a set of Web-based tools that are accessed easily by the entire University community; a primary Web site (catalyst.washington.edu) that serves as a information clearinghouse on technology-related topics; a workshop series that provides technology training for instructors; and personalized individual consulting for faculty. Through the Catalyst Initiative, the University dramatically increased the quality of services by focusing on scalable, enterprise-wide solutions.
- Prototype: Overcoming significant barriers, the Rhode Island Department of Administration launched an ePayment engine through the state’s Web portal (www.ri.gov) to provide state and local agencies with a means of conducting online transactions. This marked the first time the state could accept credit card payments for services via the Internet. In a partnership with New England Interactive, the software development, hosting and banking fees are all handled using zero tax dollars, a key fiscal hurdle. The self-funding mechanism for the ePayment engine makes the program free to any state and local agency in Rhode Island. The first full service offering through the ePayment engine is the State’s online boat registration renewal service. Vehicle registration renewal will go online next to serve approximately 300,000 residents.
- Agent of Change: Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh was recognized for his efforts to transform government within his office with the introduction of the Kansas Online Uniform Commercial Code filing system in July 2001. This system moved a manual, paper-based system to the Internet, making the filing process faster and easier for businesses. To improve adoption rates of the new system, the Secretary’s office reassessed the costs of the online versus paper-based filing and partnered with the Kansas Bankers Association to ensure accurate filing, adoption, marketing, and quality assurance. The Secretary also utilized the state’s portal manager, the Information Network of Kansas, to build the application at no cost to his office. What emerged was a more widely available Web-based service and a new fee structure that made online filing fees cost just one-third the price of paper-based filing. The result was a 65 percent adoption rate during the first month of operation, and an 80 percent adoption rate today for online filing.
To participate in the awards program, government organizations, public corporations, and higher education institutions in the United States submitted nominations for existing, Web-enabled, digital solutions or services. Nominations were viewed and judged online by a panel of leaders in academia, government and other organizations. Awards for each category will be based on the degree of creative thinking and innovative use of Web-enabled technology used to create or enhance service delivery; the extent to which the nomination successfully addresses a significant problem faced by the users or the organization; the level of transformation and demonstrated effectiveness and tangible results achieved in the delivery of the program or service.
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