Finding egovernment inspiration in Alabama

If you're looking for inspirational egovernment ideas, the CIO 100 Award from CIO magazine are a great place to start. The annual Awards honor organisations creating business value via technology innovation.

For 2008 the State of Alabama was the only state government to win an award, for its egovernment initiatives, involving the delivery of over 130 egovernment services via the Alabama.gov portal.

Some of these services include live online website help, a 'virtual Alabama' powered by GIS technology, the deployment of video conferencing for distance learning, a range of online processes for ordering and renewing licenses, online payment, and many other online services.

While Alabama is the only state to win, a number of US government departments were alsorecognised with awards, including,

• the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
  
• the California Department of Health Care Services
• the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
• King County, Washington
• the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, and
• Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
  

These organisations have undertaken a wide range of inspirational egovernment initiatives, demonstrating that the public sector can achieve significant business value through digital technologies.