The Washington, DC, web portal—DC.Gov—won one of the online public sector’s most coveted awards September 29. The portal was named Best of the Web by the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government.
The six-year-old, 150,000-page portal shared top honors in the city portal category with the City of New Orleans, La. A panel of IT experts selected city, county, and state winners from 250 entries across the US. The 2005 award represented an unprecedented second win for the DC portal, which won just two years ago in 2003—and was ineligible in 2004 because of its win the previous year.
“We are honored by this award,” said Washington DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams. “The District’s website has played a key role in the city’s renaissance as it has brought hundreds of government services to residents’ fingertips. It’s saved people millions of hours previously spent waiting in lines or on phones. Chief Technology Officer Suzanne Peck and her staff have a lot to be proud of.”
Best of the Web (BOW) judges evaluated entries for innovation, web-based delivery of public services, efficiency, economy and functionality for improved citizen access, according to the Center for Digital Government.
The DC portal presents a “single face” of the District government for residents, businesses, visitors, and employees. Featuring over 120 transactional applications and branded around the slogan, “Your City at Your Service,” the site received more than 11 million visits in 2004.
The website features a growing suite of e-government applications that offer residents, businesses, visitors, and District employees more and more accurate information about the District government and more convenient service delivery than ever before, said Chief Technology Officer Peck.
"The District of Columbia is home to 560,000 residents and 100,000 businesses, and we host millions of visitors each year,” she said. “Our goal is to provide all of them the broadest, fastest, and easiest access possible to information and services via our web portal. As winner of the BOW in 2003 and again this year, we can truly say we've met our goal. We're honored and delighted to receive this important award."