Expanding eGovernment Every Day

Jul 2006 , Sponsored by NIC

Over the past 15 years, eGovernment grew from an unlikely phenomenon into the cornerstone of government service delivery. In that time, NIC has emerged as the leader in eGovernment solutions -- delivering value, innovation and long-term partnerships to government at all levels. In fact, the company pioneered modern eGovernment in 1991 by deploying end-to-end electronic transactions for the state of Kansas that laid the groundwork for the transformation of government service delivery that continues today.

The advent of the World Wide Web ushered in a new era of eGovernment possibilities never before thought possible. Since then, the company has focused its efforts on building and deploying eGovernment solutions that take full advantage of a rapidly changing technology landscape to simplify the way government and citizens do business.

From its pre-Internet beginnings in Kansas, NIC has developed a core expertise in taking legacy systems and creating front-end portals that transform often decades-old IT infrastructure. This transformation empowers government to deliver on today's service demands without uprooting reliable back-end systems. The result is a cutting-edge eGovernment delivery approach that makes it possible to move almost any government business that can be done on paper to an online environment that is faster, more accurate and more reliable.

Across the country, from Utah to Maine to South Carolina, governments are witnessing the eGovernment revolution NIC is leading. Almost anything imaginable can now be done in an eGovernment environment.

Building an eGovernment Powerhouse in Arkansas
In Arkansas, Governor Mike Huckabee spearheads initiatives that improve service delivery and make state government more cost-effective. Arkansas currently offers more than 400 eGovernment services, including online child support payments, business filings and criminal background checks for employers.

"Our online services make it possible for the citizens of Arkansas to conduct state business 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Huckabee. "My goal has always been to make government more accessible to the people, and that is certainly happening now through our online services."

Agencies and departments across Arkansas state government have been empowered by eGovernment solutions that allow residents and business users to interact with their government electronically -- which reduces transaction time, drives down costs and markedly improves efficiency for government and constituents alike.

As a result, the state's Internet portal (www.Arkansas.gov) is widely regarded as one of the nation's most progressive eGovernment sites. An early champion of migrating government services to the Internet, Governor Huckabee was quick to recognize the value of partnering with the private sector to enhance how the state served its residents.

"Rather than constructing government buildings, we chose to invest in building advanced online services and computer networks," said Huckabee. "NIC has helped us make government less expensive while providing a better quality of service to the people of Arkansas."

"We strive to make it as simple as possible to deal with the government so it saves people money," said Jeff Fraser, NIC's CEO. "On the flip side, we want to make government operate as effectively as it possibly can so it saves us money as taxpayers."

Big Sky Government
In the vast expanses of Montana, Governor Brian Schweitzer strives to keep his state on eGovernment's leading edge by deploying innovative online solutions. "If you put Montana on a map of the Northeastern United States, it would stretch from New York to Chicago," said Schweitzer. "With 920,000 people spread out across the state, delivering government services presents a challenge." With that in mind, Schweitzer brought the state to the forefront of eGovernment with online solutions that serve and protect citizens.

"It is very important that a geographically dispersed state like Montana embrace eGovernment," said Schweitzer. "Think about the logistical problems. We've got to reach people all across Montana. We have to do it electronically, and I think we are doing a very good job."

One important eGovernment service Montana offers is the ability to obtain hunting and fishing licenses online.

"The most important thing you can do in Montana is make it easier for people to get hunting and fishing licenses," he said. "If you don't get that right, you're not going to be governor very long. You can go online and buy a hunting and fishing license right now. You can go online and access every part of state government."

Not only is Montana using NIC's expertise to offer more convenient services to citizens, but the state has also introduced a solution that could save lives by ensuring law enforcement has the most current data possible.

In the past, when a police officer in Montana pulled over a motorist driving a new car, determining the authenticity of the temporary license plates was difficult because it often took days or weeks for license information to be downloaded to law enforcement databases. A service offered in every car dealership statewide is automating the temporary registration permit process. Now vehicle registration data is entered into the database before a customer even drives off the lot. Not only does this make the job of law enforcement safer, it created a paperless and timesaving solution for auto dealerships.

Delivering Cost-Effective Solutions With the Self-Funded Model
NIC built much of its reputation on the self-funded model -- a system in which modest transaction fees on a limited number of services cover the cost of building, maintaining and marketing eGovernment initiatives.

"We make it as simple as possible for government decision-makers by providing a broad portfolio of services at no upfront cost to taxpayers," said Harry Herington, President of NIC. "The way we get paid is by making life easier for people who conduct business with government."

Remember Maine
In response to growing requests from Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and corporate filing customers for information in an electronic format in the 1990s, Maine's Legislature authorized a project to automate the state's UCC and corporate filing processes. The law aimed to provide an improved method of accessing these records, as well as reduce the processing time for creditors who filed public notice of their interest in properties used for collateral. The legislation was passed with a requirement of parity between paper or in-person transactions and the electronic transactions through InforMe, Maine's new Web portal through which UCC and corporate filings would be automated.

Since transaction fee funding was not available, NIC and the state devised a business model that provided fair compensation for quality services while ensuring that user adoption of online services was not affected. Maine's innovative approach has become one of many ways to responsibly fund eGovernment initiatives.

"The legislation's requirement ultimately worked to our advantage," said State Commissioner of Finance and Administration Becky Wyke. "We confidently developed the motto that 'If we make it easier to get access to state services, we will sell more of them.' And it actually worked out that way."

In the first year alone, Wyke said there was a stunning 70 percent adoption rate for online UCC filings. Since then, InforMe has grown to offer more than 300 eGovernment solutions like driver's license renewals and professional licensing services. And thanks to the self-funded model, the state never spent an additional dime to make its eGovernment transformation a reality.

"I have to say, bar none, NIC has been the most pleasurable partner to work with," said Wyke. "Part of it comes from their absolute commitment to providing the best services and to being successful. But part of it is also driven by the model itself; they don't succeed unless we succeed and basically, they're not profitable unless citizens want to use the portal to access the services. There is no question that online service technology has allowed us to do more with less."

Government on the Go in Utah
Imagine driving your vehicle into a service station for safety and emissions inspections and driving out not only with a clean bill of auto health -- but also with your renewed license tags. The Utah Department of Motor Vehicles has partnered with NIC to make that concept a reality.

"In this day and age, we use technology as much as possible instead of going out and hiring additional staff," said Utah DMV Assistant Director Kevin Park. "Our challenge is to do more with the same staff and resources we have now." For several years, the Utah DMV has worked with NIC to provide online vehicle tag renewals. But the state wanted to drive more people to its eGovernment services, so it tapped NIC's capabilities to create a new delivery channel for us."

On The Spot vehicle tag renewals launched in May 2005. The system allows inspection stations to register vehicles online and issue tags immediately to drivers before they exit the premises. More than 100 stations now provide this solution, and others are being added each week.

"In May 2006, we processed nearly 7,000 renewals through this program with only 100 stations live," said Park. "We anticipate having hundreds of stations offer this service. You can go into one of the stations, get your inspection done, complete your renewal, and drive away happy. NIC has helped us find new ways to approach customer service and provide value to Utah's residents."

eGovernment Overhaul in South Carolina
South Carolina has long prided itself on delivering eGovernment solutions. But a few years ago, the state's eGovernment operating platform unexpectedly ceased to be supported by another vendor. The state wanted to keep its eGovernment program and increase the number of services for residents. In addition to addressing the outdated operating system, the state also faced the challenge of making improvements without increasing expenditures.

State CIO Jim Bryant said NIC came through with a complete, end-to-end solution for South Carolina that included a full redesign of the state's Web portal.

Bryant said NIC offered a comprehensive package, including agency and citizen marketing, upgraded hardware and software infrastructure, customer service and live online customer service. "The transaction- based self-funded model allowed us to revise the old site and make it more robust by providing new tools like an enterprise payment engine, agency newsroom and online shopping mall," he said.

NIC helped South Carolina with more than eGovernment technology alone. Like it does in other states, the company established a local subsidiary in Columbia that hired local staff and helped South Carolina develop policies to support the expansion of eGovernment. With its revamped Web portal, www.SC.gov, the state can offer an ever-increasing number of services online.

"The state had no capital funds to spend on eGovernment, so the self-funded model enabled all of these enhancements," said Deputy CIO Barbara Teusink, who worked closely with Bryant on the build-out of South Carolina's portal. "Our office has been relieved of the responsibilities and cost of maintaining the Web site, and we continue to receive requests from governmental entities that want to further expand their online services. We feel that everyone wins in this partnership."