NYC Link began with a plan and a management structure that has greatly contributed to its success and continued growth.
"In establishing a Web presence, initially we weren't very comfortable with our editorial content and management of information," said Avi Duvdevani, deputy commissioner of Client Support Services and executive director for the Office of New Media. "But once the Office of New Media was established, we had clear guidelines -- a style guide and direction, and support from our advisory board. This allowed us to more effectively manage the editorial content and then layout a strategy and go beyond the information, which is the track we're on now."
Once the city government realized the value of the Office of New Media, Duvdevani and his staff were able to develop the Web site as an information delivery tool and as an important part of the city's customer service initiative.
Currently, the site features information from agencies, online services and links to other city-related Web sites. Since NYC Link and the Office of New Media are under the aegis of the mayor, direct content for the site is mainly provided by the approximately 50 agencies and departments directed by the mayor's office; additional information is provided by links.
"The site is clearly a mix of two services," Duvdevani explained. "We reach both constituents and others outside the city. We don't provide tourism information, but we link to those who do. We don't want to compete with tourism sites." Rather, he sees NYC Link as a gateway that leads users to the information they want.
One facet of the customer service goal is the availability of online forms -- or "50 percent transactions" as the Office of New Media calls them. These online forms -- which range from complaints about taxis and pay phones to feedback on the Crosswalks Television Network (government and educational television stations) -- are the first steps in the Office of New Media's process of helping government improve service to the citizens. Once a citizen completes an online complaint form, it is sent to the proper agency. This allows constituents 24-hour access to the agency from the comfort of their Internet terminal.
Agency Responsibility is Key
The Office of New Media is working with agencies in helping them to treat electronic communications like traditional in-person or mail communications.
"Educating the agencies is an important part of our mission," said Helene Heller, director of customer services for the Office of New Media. "It's not just the technology issues but educating the agencies and getting them to understand what it means to use this medium responsibly." In October, the Office of New Media began an audit process to insure that the items being submitted were being responded to appropriately. "People tend to have more patience when writing a letter than they do electronically," Duvdevani said. "We watch the comments we get back, and when we see that someone hasn't received a response, we follow up with the communications liaison in the agency. We depend on the agencies to be responsible for their responses."
Once the Office of New Media feels that the agencies are ready, and some security issues are resolved, they plan to move on to "100 percent" transactions -- transactions that will provide and receive information. Duvdevani plans to begin with real estate and property information. "Basically," he said, "we'll be providing information that is public data that we'd normally provide over our information kiosks or in hard copy."
Online Procurement Gets It Out Faster
With NYC Link, the Office of New Media has also succeeded in dispensing online procurement information. Currently, all agencies are required to publish all of their contract information in a hard-copy newsletter -- the City Record. The Office of New Media has developed an application with the mayor's Office of Contracts that allows agencies to post information to City Record's online bulletin board and simultaneously send the notice on to the City Record office for hard-copy publication. "We not only make this information available to the vendor community quicker -- at least a day before it reaches the City Record -- the agencies also avoid having to enter or submit duplicated versions of the information," Duvdevani explained.
Heller added, "What we'd like to do is go beyond that and feature more. We've been working with the 20 major contracting agencies to develop content on their home page that goes beyond and offers specific information to their vendors."
Unique Management
The successful relationship between the Office of New Media and the agencies relies heavily on the communications liaisons in each agency. Because of New York City's size and the number of agencies that the Office of New Media serves, NYC Link is coordinated and maintained by a widespread management group.
At the center of the group is the Office of New Media staff. Each agency has a communications liaison -- a senior-level staff member of the agency -- who is in charge of their agency's content, including how they use the NYC Link site to deliver their services. "We work with this person constantly," explained Heller, "anywhere from one-on-one meetings and feedback to handholding and presentations at senior-level staff meetings. We'll do whatever it takes to educate, not only the agency heads, but also the senior staff of the agency, to help them develop their content and customer service." This type of management structure gives each of the agencies ownership and responsibility for their data and allows a consistent direct contact point for the Office of New Media.
Support From Above
According to Duvdevani and Heller, the Office of New Media and NYC Link would not be where it is today without the support of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his staff. "The mayor communicates his support for our project to his staff on a regular basis," Heller said. "When the mayor has meetings with his directors, the subject of their Web presence comes up."
Duvdevani said the Office of New Media recently installed Web access in the mayor's office, and now he looks at agency Web sites and makes comments about each agency's content. "He challenges the commissioners to upgrade their presence on the Web."
The mayor's support has also been a key part of their marketing plan. "With no marketing budget ... the mayor has been our best emissary. He has done public service announcements for the page on video, and during his meetings our brochures are handed out," Duvdevani said.
Other marketing strategies for the site have included a presence at trade shows and cross-links with other sites as well as, of course, recognition gained from winning the Best of the Web. The mayor was particularly excited about this award. "In the same sentence as the Yankees winning the World Series, he made reference to us winning the Best of the Web," Duvdevani laughed.
The Future
As they look toward the future of the site, Duvdevani and Heller both see more transactions and more interactivity. They plan to move to 100 percent transactions by the end of the fiscal year, and they're always looking for more useful ways to utilize the Web. "Our view is that we don't stop with what we have," Duvdevani explained. "Each time that we reach a plateau we move on."
NYC Link was the local government winner in the 1997 Best of the Web contest. For more information on Florida, the state government winner, please see "Bill Lindner and the Florida Communities Network," Government Technology March 1997.
For more information on NYC Link, contact Helene Heller.
December Table of Contents
If you have an interesting government or education Web site that you think is a good candidate for Best of the Web, please e-mail your suggestion to Christine Poulos
