Governor's Technology Awards 2008
Governor Kaine presents 2008 awards
Governor Timothy M. Kaine presented the Governor's Technology Awards to this year's winners at COVITS on September 8 in Williamsburg. Winning entries in eight categories were announced and presented, including honorees from local government, higher education, state entities and telework practictioners. Secretry of Technology Aneesh Chopra and Cathilea Robinett, executive vice president, Center for Digital Government, assisted Governor Kaine with the awards presentation.
Winners
Category: Online, Not "In Line"
This category had a tie and two winners
First winner: Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy
For: DMME e-Forms Centers
Accepting the award: Todd Richardson, Information Systems Manager
Project description: With an $80,000 competitive grant from the Governor's Productivity Investment Fund, DMME implemented e-Forms centers for Mineral Mining (non-coal) and Gas and Oil customers to allow applications for permits, licenses, registrations, and required reports to be submitted through a secure, Web-based interface. Customers once required to submit and manually sign thousands of pages of paper forms each year can now fulfill most of their submission requirements in a secure, paperless environment.
Second winner: Supreme Court of Virginia
For: Web-enabled Virginia Secure Remote Access
Accepting the award: Daniel McBryde, Records Imaging Systems Manager, Supreme Court
Project description: Land Record Data maintained by Circuit Courts is essential for any Real Estate transaction. Before the Web Enabled Secure Remote Access system for the Supreme Court’s Records Management System was installed, citizens had to physically go to the courthouse for record searches. Now that Secure Remote Access is available, citizens may access the Land Record data online, saving time, gas and money.
Category: Cross-boundary Collaboration
This category also had a tie and two winners.
First winner: OptiNet-Cumberland Plateau Project
For: Collaboration between Bristol Virginia Utilities and Cumberland Plateau Planning District
Accepting the award: Wes Rosenbalm, President and CEO, Bristol Virginia Utilities Stacey Bright, Executive Vice President and CFO, Bristol Virginia Utilities Paul Hurley, Bristol Virginia Utilities Board Chairman Jim Rector, Mayor of Bristol Larry Carr, Executive Director, Cumberland Plateau Company
Project description: Bristol Virginia Utilities was the first municipal electric company in the nation to provide customers with triple-play voice, cable and data services over a fiber-to-the-user network, OptiNet. Because of the utility’s successful deployment, it entered partnerships with economic development commissions in Southwest Virginia to build a 200-mile expansion of its then 600-mile OptiNet network into four neighboring rural counties -- Dickenson, Buchanan, Tazewell and Russell. This project is already being held up as an example of how a sagging rural economy can be transitioned into a high-tech hub.
Second winner, Cross-boundary Collaboration category:
Virginia Code Commission, Division of Legislative Automated Systems and Virginia Department of Planning and Budget
For: Regulation Information System and Virginia Regulatory Town Hall 2.0
Accepting the award: Lilli Hausenfluck, Virginia Code Commission Joe Johnson, Division of Legislative Automated Systems Scott Hubbard, Department of Planning and Budget Melanie Kielb (pronounced kelb) West, Associate Director of the Economic and Regulatory Analysis Division
Project description: The regulatory process in Virginia is a complex system with multiple levels of publication requirements to ensure public transparency and participation. Prior to implementation of the collaborative electronic filing system, the online version of Code was often several months out of date. Legislative and executive systems operated with different databases, entry points, user requirements, data structures, software and interfaces. Citizens could have difficulty determining the most current version of applicable regulations. Agencies had to maintain their own databases, enter redundant submissions and maintain paper files. The Registrar had to use a paper-based and labor-intensive process. Personnel from both branches worked closely together to create a fully integrated solution that eliminated data and system barriers while maintaining a high degree of security and version control. Their collaboration resulted in a centralized, Web-based enterprise approach that provides significant savings in time and vast improvements in usability, accuracy and transparency for citizens. It provides a model for electronic rulemaking nationally.
Category: IT as Efficiency Driver
Winner: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
For: Enterprise Content Management Project
Accepting the award: Valerie Thompson, Deputy Director of Administration, Department of Environmental Quality
Project description: The Commonwealth’s Enterprise Content Management Project is being led by the Department of Environmental Quality with facilitation and support from the Virginia Enterprise Applications Program Office. Over the last several years, DEQ has been trying to plan and develop a solution for their many records (estimated to be 59 million) and to provide a more effective and efficient records management process. Besides efficiencies gained, this project enables better access to important environmental data for localities and citizens. Many agencies are waiting to follow DEQ’s lead in this important enterprise endeavor.
Category: Innovative Use of Technology in Local Government
Winner: Franklin County
For: Rural Broadband Deployment Through Public-Private Partnership
Accepting the award: Sandie Terry, IT Director, Franklin County
Project description: Franklin County partnered with a private sector wireless Internet service provider to build a redundant, wireless mesh network. This partnership expanded the County’s wide-area network to all remote county offices including fifteen fire and rescue stations. In addition, the project brought broadband options to citizens in most of the unserved and underserved areas. The partnership leveraged County infrastructure and included creative financing to expedite the network build-out while limiting the investment of the County’s general funds.
Category: Innovative Use of Technology in K-12 Education
Winner: Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools
For: W-JCC Instructional Technology Standard
Accepting the award: Gary Mathews, PhD., Superintendent, W-JCC Schools Elise Emanuel, School Board Chair
Project description: Beginning in the fall of 2006, Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (W-JCC) began the Instructional Technology Standard project to research, design, and implement a standard set of technology tools for the classroom to better the teaching and learning environment. It enhances learning for all students by providing an up-to-date, flexible, and practical tool for teachers coupled with appropriate computing resources for student use. Technology is used as a tool to support training and curriculum integration, enhancing both the teaching and learning processes.
Category: Innovative Use of Technology in Higher Education
Winner: James Madison University with August Medical Center and the Virginia Department of Health
For: Pandemic Flu Modeling Partnership
Accepting the award: Dr. John Noftsinger, Vice Provost, James Madison University
Project description: Preparing for response to a health related crisis such as a wide spread flu outbreak requires prior coordination and planning. James Madison University, Augusta Medical Center, and the Virginia Department of Health have developed a unique partnership to provide solutions to surge capacity issues impacting regional hospitals. The Flu Pandemic Model was developed by JMU’s Institute for Infrastructure and Information Assurance. Software enables hospital management to understand the ramifications of a patient surge. Hospitals can use the model to explore different scenarios and the impact a surge can exert on the standard level of care at a particular hospital. The model demonstrates staffing levels of various nursing competencies, hospital bed and medicine availability.
Category: Best Private Sector Telework Initiative
Winner: Orange Business Services
For: Employee Teleworking Program
Accepting the award: Amy Teklinsky, Program Manager, Orange Business Services
Project description: Orange Business Services has significantly "moved in the right direction as a commute-friendly company" while continuing to effectively serve customers and support employees. Due to increased demands for employee time flexibility, mobility and corporate efforts to optimize facility costs, Orange Business Services voluntarily initiated a very successful formal teleworking program. The company implemented the program in its Virginia office through the financial support of the Telework VA program along with the results of employee surveys done yearly by Commuter Connections.
Category: Best Public Sector Telework Initiative
Winner: Virginia Department of Taxation
For: Employee Teleworking Program
Accepting the award: Janie Bowen, Department of Taxation Linda Foster, Department of Taxation
Project description: In 2001, the Department of Taxation began its telework program by positioning all field collectors and auditors to work remotely from home, accounting for 22% of TAX’s workforce. In November 2006, TAX implemented a 6-month pilot program to home-base 14 customer service representatives and data capture operators to determine the feasibility of using this approach on a long-term basis. The pilot was so successful that it became an official program within four months. As of June 1, 2008, TAX has 62% of its workforce teleworking in some capacity.
Call for Nominations
The Honorable Aneesh Chopra, Secretary of Technology, will present the Eighth Governor's Technology Awards on behalf of Governor Timothy M. Kaine at COVITS 2008. This awards program honors outstanding achievements and recognizes innovative technology initiatives in the public sector throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Winners will be honored during the COVITS event, scheduled for September 7-9, 2008 in Williamsburg.
Award Categories | Eligibility and Deadline | Criteria
Context
As the Commonwealth of Virginia puts into action one of the most sweeping transformations of information technology in the nation, government entities are realizing new opportunities to use technology as a springboard to improve service delivery and government efficiency. The Governor's Technology Awards recognize innovation and ‘big picture thinking' put into action by government entities. Winning entries will be shared widely in order to provide inspiration and best practice examples to peers and partners.
Awards Presentation
Winners will be announced during the 2008 Governor's Technology Awards Program, which will take place at COVITS 2008, September 7-9 in Williamsburg. For more information about COVITS, please see www.covits.org.
Contact Information
For questions about the awards program, e-mail emily.seibert@vita.virginia.gov. Media inquiries only, contact Judy Napier, Deputy Secretary of Technology, at (804) 692-2558 or judy.napier@governor.virginia.gov.