“We believe that the more ownership citizens can take in this contest and the more their collective voices are heard, the more apt they might be to positively interact with the website – and their government – once it launches,” said CivicPlus CEO Ward Morgan in a press release announcing the contest.
Entries are due Nov. 21 and finalists will be announced Nov. 28. Finalist communities will participate in the last stage of the competition, in which citizens and government officials must work together. Officials will complete an assessment to score their current website, as well as post an online survey to gather citizen feedback on what they want in a new site. Lastly, a CivicPlus representative will interview community officials. Contest winners will be announced by Jan. 21, 2013.
A community entry form can be found on the CivicPlus website.