Governor Kaine Announces National Award for Stimulus.Virginia.gov
– Virginia's stimulus reporting site receives Digital Government Achievement Award; two localities also honored –
RICHMOND – Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced today that Stimulus.Virginia.Gov, Virginia's official website for citizen input for and reporting to the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), has been honored with a national Digital Government Achievement Award in the Government-to-Citizen category by the non-profit Center for Digital Government.
"Since day one, citizen input, transparency, and accountability have been top priorities in the process of distributing ARRA funds," Governor Kaine said. "This honor affirms that Stimulus.Virginia.Gov is an effective mechanism to achieve these goals and is yet another way that Virginia is taking the lead in its use of technology to engage citizens."
More than 9,000 ideas were submitted to Stimulus.Virginia.Gov by citizens, localities and other groups between February 10 and March 6, 2009. Since that time, the site has transitioned to an easy-to-use graphical, geographic reporting resource of ARRA funds received in the Commonwealth and projects undertaken. The stimulus website was created by a cross-boundary state team including the Governor's Webmaster and staff, the Department of Planning and Budget, the Department of Accounts, the State Comptroller and VITA's Enterprise Applications Division.
The Center for Digital Government also honored the City of Virginia Beach as the best city web portal in the nation, and Fairfax County as best county web portal in the nation. Virginia's official state Web portal was ranked first in the nation among states in 2008, and therefore did not compete in this year's state category.
According to the Center, the Digital Government Achievement Awards showcase progressive and innovative web sites and digital applications by government entities worldwide. Best of the Web ranks the top U.S. state and local web portals, recognizing advances in digital solutions and communication with citizens, government communities and business. The awards are judged by a panel of experts on a wide range of categories, including site accessibility, innovation, cost-savings, ease of use, and exceptional service to public.
For more information on the awards, please visit the Center's official announcement at http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/survey/88.
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