Government Technology

This Old Portal: Good Bones, Great Possibilities


By the Center for Digital Government

"It's got good bones but the years have caught up with it. There's a lot to work with here, so let's get started." Such is the commentary that begins each episode of the popular long-running public television series "This Old House." Much the same could be said of public sector portals, many of them developed a decade ago at the beginning of the e-government (or government improvement) movement.

The Center for Digital Government has been a keen observer of state and local government portals since their inception in the mid-1990s. With a wink and a nod to the TV series that started the home improvement revolution, and a tip of the hat to the thousands of public servants and their private partners who labored tirelessly on the first generation of e-government services, this white paper takes a fresh look at "This Old Portal." It too has good bones and great possibilities when considering the future of public service delivery.

When Norm Abram, Kevin O'Connor, Tom Silva and the "This Old House" crew show up, they refresh component by component. A structural refresh of the government portal also begins at the foundation, followed by a component-by-component renovation. Each of the components to a "This Old Portal" renovation is discussed in turn in the newest whitepaper from the Center for Digital Government.



Government Technology
Public CIO
Emergency Management
Digital Communities