Back to Their Roots

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Found in: Case Studies

Over the past decade, the letter "e" became ubiquitous. Just about every industry attached the letter to its name at some point to illustrate the availability of electronic services.

It may surprise many people that government was one of the first to add the letter "e." In fact, eGovernment has been around longer than the World Wide Web. The origins of eGovernment harken back to the days of Bulletin Boards, 300 baud modems and blocky green text.

eGovernment's purpose is to create a portal for more convenient constituent access. Of course, prior to the Web, the Internet primarily was inhabited by researchers, professors and scientists. But even before the Web, one company was developing eGovernment strategies. Kansas-based NIC began managing eGovernment services in 1991 by offering data hosting and text-based portals for Internet-savvy citizens.

The advent of the graphical user interface made the Internet -- and eGovernment -- much more accessible to the citizenry. Now with 17 states already onboard, NIC is proving that states can build a custom-made electronic bridge to reach their constituents -- all while saving money, generating revenue and improving overall service.

Modern Convenience
As in government, people today are being asked to do more with less. For citizens and businesses, this usually means getting more done in ever-shrinking windows of time. When the need to interact with government arises, many of these constituents are too busy to stand in line at a service counter.

In Maine, the lobster capital of the world, those who harvest lobster for a living once could spend all day renewing professional licenses at the Department of Marine Resources -- taking time out of their demanding schedules. Thanks to a partnership with NIC's Maine subsidiary, commercial fishermen of all kinds now instantly renew professional licenses online.

In Tennessee, where the state partnered with NIC's Tennessee subsidiary, citizens can skip the line at the Department of Motor Vehicles and go online for such services as driver's license renewals, changes of address and duplicate license requests.

Not only do constituents gain from eGovernment, but agencies themselves benefit tremendously as well, said NIC Chief Executive Officer Jeff Fraser. "eGovernment makes sense to our government partners because they are able to increase service levels to constituents while generating internal efficiencies by reducing manual processes such as data entry. In addition, the self-funded model allows agencies to increase their statutory revenue collection because it provides an easier way for businesses and citizens to interact with government."

This strategy is central to NIC's eGovernment solution. NIC's self-funded model is based on the premise that many people, especially businesses, are willing to pay a small transaction fee to avoid the hassles of physically going to a government building. And by creating quality applications, the number of users -- and thus the statutory and transaction fees -- increase, creating an eGovernment system that pays for itself instead of requiring tax dollars from the state's general fund.

The bottom line is that, in most cases, the only reason people go wait in line is because a law or regulation exists that compels them to do so."People don't tend to go to government offices unless they have to," said Fraser."There is nothing you do on paper with the government that can't be done faster online."

A Tailor-Made Solution
Despite their similarities, states are unique and individual experiments in democracy. For this reason, a one-size-fits-all solution may look good but ultimately will fail to address all of a state's needs. NIC builds solutions designed specifically for each state government partner.

"We don't just design applications," said NIC Chief Operating Officer Harry Herington. "Most companies build a solution and then take the government's money and leave. NIC is focused on the long-term success of eGovernment. We identify what a government needs and create a solution around those needs -- and we only get paid when a service is successful and being used by citizens and businesses."

The result of such an approach is that NIC must be creative and nimble while building the best possible eGovernment solution. For agencies burdened by a shortage of funds and demands for a higher level of service, a tailor-made NIC solution may be the answer.

"Government agencies are swamped," said Herington. "We allow agencies to go back and do what it is they were designed for. Our centralized Web portals address the challenges of legacy systems. Our solutions improve customer satisfaction. They save money and make money. NIC's approach allows government employees to focus on each agency's core mission and provide quality service to the people."

To learn how self-funding can work for you, contact Elizabeth Proudfit at 703-288-0980 or eproudfit@nicusa.com. Visit NIC at www.nicusa.com

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