Virginia Innovation Puts Commonwealth Among Top in Digital States Survey

Photo: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine

In terms of technological advancement, Virginia has had a very good year. Awards, honors and recognition have been heaped upon the commonwealth -- and for good reason. In addition to placing third in the Center for Digital Government's 2008 Digital States Survey, Virginia also won first place in the 2008 Best of the Web Awards for its state portal. The commonwealth is fortunate to have a group of forward thinkers leading it into this digital age. Governor Tim Kaine and CIO Lem Stewart are two of the innovators who have helped lead the way to better government through IT. They have institutionalized performance management and transformed government culture into one of persistent focus on quality improvement and accountability.

"Across Virginia, we are using information technology to develop innovative and cost-effective tools that improve customer service and support our management and business processes," said Kaine. "These awards demonstrate our commitment to improving citizen service and smarter management of state government."

One of the most comprehensive Web sites is the Virginia Department of Transportation Dashboard. It melds a huge amount of data into an intuitive, one-stop shop for all transportation needs.

Many features were added to the Web site to inform citizens about transportation issues. Tracking project status proved to be a particularly useful tool for tax payers who want to see their tax money being used efficiently and it helps to hold VDOT accountable in a very public way. Citizens can view the budget and time-line analysis of pre-construction and construction projects by using the color rating system. "Green projects" are on time and within budget. "Yellows" are in danger of falling behind schedule or are exceeding budget. "Reds" are behind schedule or over budget. In 2007, VDOT achieved, for the first time, all its goals for on-time, on-budget delivery of construction and maintenance projects.

Another feature added to the VDOT Web site is the Highway Performance area. Here, traffic engineers and operations managers came together to discuss what type of information would be most useful to the public. As a result, information on Interstate congestion, travel times, speeds on key commuter routes and incident response times is now available in real-time to the citizens of Virginia. Paving information and bridge conditions are updated daily by maintenance inspectors.

These are just a few of the many steps government has taken to improve accountability and transparency. This new institutionalized philosophy has created a direct and open line of communication between the state agency and its constituents.

Another of Virginia's accomplishments is the ever-improving VITA Web site. Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) was created in 2003. According to state officials, since the inception of VITA, there have been no failed IT projects in Virginia. This can be largely attributed to the agency's Project Management Division which reviews and monitors all IT investments. VITA has established a very strict set of steps used in the management of IT projects. Projects require close examination and evaluation by VITA, the CIO and the CAO (Chief Applications Officer). This helps to ensure that projects stay within budget, accomplish what they intend to accomplish, meet business and governments needs and remain useful and relevant well after the project is complete. The long-term management of these projects eliminates the problem of having products or services that were necessary at one point but have since become obsolete.

Also notable is Virginia's Town Hall Web site, which has been an award-wining system since its 1999 launch. The ever changing and improving Town Hall site is made to engage citizens and encourage their participation in the creation of government and business regulations. Governmental regulations can be complex and confusing for the average citizen. This Web site simplifies and streamlines the process, inviting two-way communication during development of policies and regulations. Also available are the changes, additions or repeals being made to existing regulations as well as access to minutes from regulatory board meetings across the commonwealth.

It is not only the quantity of online services but transparency and accountability that has really allowed this state to be competitive in the digital arena. Making government accessible, encouraging citizen participation and using cost effective tools are all necessary steps that Virginia has taken toward smarter management of the state as a whole. Governor Kaine sees technology as a way to facilitate many other aspects of government and acknowledges the fact that an investment in improving technology now will yield savings in the future.