"A world-class Web site is a competitive advantage for West Virginia," said Gayle Conelly Manchin, chair of the West Virginia Management Steering Committee and first lady of the state. "It will help the state retain and attract companies, help our home-grown businesses to prosper and our residents to get the service from government they expect in the 21st century. NIC was selected as the private partner to help us make that happen."
West Virginia issued its bid for eGovernment services in February 2007 and awarded the contract to NIC from a competitive field. The contract is for one year with two one-year renewal options, the maximum allowed by state law. The state of West Virginia will retain ownership of the content, data and statutory fees.
"NIC will deploy the self-funded model to provide the infrastructure and staff expertise required to develop, maintain and host the eGovernment portal," said NIC President Harry Herington. "We will hire additional employees over time at our Charleston office to support the state's growing eGovernment operations."
NIC expects to launch the first new services in late 2007, and it is currently working with state agencies and the West Virginia Management Steering Committee to identify and prioritize new applications to introduce in the contract's first year. The company also will redesign the state's official Web site and build upon the portal's existing functionality.
