Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
This category addresses IT initiatives related to continuity of government operations that make states better prepared for major incidents such as natural or man-made disasters, cyber attacks, pandemic flu and major infrastructure failures. Whether through planning methodologies, management information systems, infrastructure protection, security systems or recovery mechanisms, IT initiatives support government business continuity and recovery. Security of government information provided by citizens, businesses and other state customers and its availability in the event of disruption should be addressed. Business continuity or disaster recovery initiatives may relate to contingency planning, disaster recovery, homeland security, health alerts and business resumption. Benefits in this category are more likely to be speculative than quantifiable, as it addresses planning and preparedness more than reaction to an actual event. Testing and mock exercise results can be included as both part of execution (adapting plan) and results.

RECIPIENT:
Illinois - Illinois- National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (I-NEDSS)

FINALISTS:

• Tennessee
  Enterprise Storage, Backup/Recovery, and Tape Virtualization
• Utah
  Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Across Government Boundaries

Cross-Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships
This category addresses identifying, planning, coordinating, sharing, integrating or joining up formerly unintegrated IT-related organizational goals and strategies, governance and management, policies, architecture and standards, business processes, data and information, systems and applications, services, technologies and infrastructure. Collaboration or partnerships must involve at least one public governmental entity and should include significant collaboration with other public groups including localities, higher education institutions, or not-for-profit sectors. Private partnerships can support, but the state government entity should exhibit a leadership role. Examples of functional and service areas may include performance management, budgeting, criminal justice, emergency management, taxation and revenues, human services, health, education, and workforce training.

RECIPIENT:
Washington - Enhanced Driver License/Identification Card Project

FINALISTS:

• Michigan
  Government, Business and Academia collaboration to increase supply of graduating technology professionals, and promote economic growth
• Virginia
  University IT Internship Partnership

Data, Information and Knowledge Management
This category addresses strategies, processes, applications, solutions, initiatives or programs that create, use, process, leverage or manage data, information, content, knowledge and intellectual value, property or capital. Examples may include data and information architecture, data warehouses/data marts, data mining, repositories, analytics, business intelligence, performance management, e-Discovery, data and information integration, metadata and master data management, knowledge management, information life-cycle management, data quality and supporting and developing the knowledge worker and workplace. Outcomes and benefits may include the provision of information-related content and services, as well as support for development of policies, performance assessments, funding, decision-making and making government more transparent and/or inter-connected.

RECIPIENT:
Virginia - Virginia Performs: Virginia's Performance Leadership and Accountability System

FINALISTS:

• New York
  NYS Enhanced Drivers License - A Smart Way To Travel
• Texas
  Revenue and Sales Reporting (RASR) Business Intelligence Platform

Digital Government: Government to Business (G to B)
This category addresses innovative applications that foster improved interaction between government and business, including better service at less cost to business for regulatory compliance, economic development that encompasses setting up and growing a business and/or doing business with the state, and day-to-day government-to-business interactions. Examples include innovative services, one-stop solutions, provisions for transparent transactions, online registering, compliance tracking, notifications, automating licensing, permitting, reporting, payment, procurement, and similar services. This category might also include citizen benefits, if the system simultaneously allows visibility into business processes/reporting, such as complaints/recommendations. Submissions should include details about the longevity of the service, target audience and the current adoption rate as well as steps taken to ensure data and transactional security. Reference any performance measures and client satisfaction data. Include any development and/or training initiatives that ensure expanded access to, and independent use of these services by people with disabilities, particularly employees, as well as others who would not normally have easy access to digital government initiatives.

RECIPIENT:
Utah - On The Spot Renewal System and Highway Patrol Safety Inspections

FINALISTS:

• Michigan
  Certificate of Need (CON) e-Serv
• Nebraska
  Court Document E-filing

Digital Government: Government to Citizen (G to C)
This category addresses governmental applications that provide innovative service to citizens or increase government's efficiency and/or citizen interaction. Acceptable submissions include any type of electronic interface and may demonstrate two-way communication capabilities, self-service applications, personalization, subscription and notification features, and provisions for government transparency and accountability. Examples of digital government applications include personalized mapping and service location trackers, social networking, unemployment services, veterans' services, comprehensive benefits availability and eligibility services, licensing, vehicle registration, justice/safety/courts programs, issue/bill tracking/commenting, insurance, retirement programs, environmental service, and tax collection. Efficiency improvements such as e-voting, on-line permitting, and on-line bill payment will also be considered. Include details about the longevity of the service, target audience, outreach campaigns encouraging use and the current adoption rate as well as steps taken to ensure security of private data and transactions. Reference any performance measures and citizen satisfaction data. Include any development and/or training initiatives that ensure expanded access to, and independent use of these services by people with disabilities or others who would not normally have easy access to digital government initiatives.

RECIPIENT:
Virginia - Virginia.gov Portal Widgets

FINALISTS:

• Minnesota
  Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Technology Initiative Project
• North Carolina
  Integrated Voice Recognition System for Unemployment Insurance Initial and Continued Claims

Digital Government: Government to Government (G to G)
This category addresses digital government initiatives aimed at enhancing intergovernmental collaboration, planning, performance, transparency, fiscal accountability, cross-jurisdictional services and intergovernmental transaction processing. Examples include state government-wide information systems, integrated justice systems, health information systems, multi-state systems sharing, information sharing, geographic information systems and similar services that leverage a common solution across two or more federal, state, local and/or tribal governments. Include details about the longevity of the service, target audience and the current adoption rate as well as steps taken to ensure security of private data and transactions. Reference any performance measures and satisfaction data. Include any development and/or training initiatives that ensure expanded access to, and independent use of these services by people with disabilities, especially government employees, or others who would not normally have easy access to digital government initiatives.

RECIPIENT:
Michigan - State of Michigan - Standard Desktop Environment

FINALISTS:

• California
  DCSS - California Child Support Automated System
• North Carolina
  Probation Officer's Dashboard

Enterprise IT Management Initiatives
This category represents state initiatives to plan, organize and execute enterprise-wide technology initiatives. The focus should be on solutions that employ policies, best practices and processes for enterprise change management, workforce development, governance or transformation of service delivery. Initiatives nominated should provide information regarding how the project has assisted the state in managing technology assets-people, hardware, software, etc, as well as costs. This category may include state-wide efforts in the areas of policy-setting, public/private partnerships, and/or outsourcing, and may include implementation of best practice management structures such as ITIL, CoBIT and the ISO/IEC 20000 standards to improve service delivery and accountability. The Awards Committee encourages submissions that address the 2009 state CIO priority strategies and solutions, including consolidation, shared services, budget and cost control, security, enterprise resource planning, governance, transparency and green IT.

RECIPIENT:
Pennsylvania - IT Shared Services

FINALISTS:

• Texas
  Business Process Improvements Project @ Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• West Virginia
  West Virginia IT Consolidation Program

Information Communications Technology (ICT) Innovations
This category covers initiatives or services to leverage communication technologies to promote economic development, interoperability and improved quality of life. This may be accomplished by facilitating or providing communications capabilities that increase citizen access, enable state government to operate more efficiently and efficiently and effectively or offer more innovative, responsive, and personalized services to citizens. Initiatives or services could be unique uses of current technology or the application of leading-edge technology. Examples include specialized customer information delivery systems, multimedia learning applications, technologies enabling rehabilitation, geographic information systems, artificial intelligence (AI) systems, and media delivery independent systems such as wireless applications (i.e., PDA, mobile, or remote computing). Other examples include interface improvements that encourage broader use of technologies by citizens and use of Web 2.0 techniques such as social network analysis (i.e. enabling new ways of performing vertical applications that results in significantly enhanced communication or cost savings), collective intelligence (enabling new ways of doing business across governmental entities that will result in major shifts in operational or public policy dynamics), and mashups (i.e. new combinations or integrations of data that produce results that were not the original reason for producing the raw source data).Challenges in this area include low-cost broadband connectivity for all citizens regardless of geographic location or economic status, and solutions to regulatory compliance related to broadband spectrum and the FCC.

RECIPIENT:
North Carolina - Wearable Inspection Grading Information Network System

FINALISTS:

• South Dakota
  Research, Education & Economic Development Network
• Washington
  Statewide Electronic Collision & Ticket Online Records (SECTOR)

Information Security and Privacy
This category encompasses both IT security and privacy as strategic initiatives within state governments. These initiatives may include cybersecurity, risk assessment, data security, IT security awareness, crisis communications, or privacy frameworks. Challenges in this area include automated or directed external threats, hardware or software vulnerabilities, remote or mobile access, insider threats, incident management, or crisis handling. Examples also include telework adoption, education and awareness programs, state-level leadership and mentoring, initiatives to create a privacy culture, and efforts to organize for IT security.

RECIPIENT:
Michigan - Secure Wireless LAN

Maine
CERTS

Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Application Certification & Accreditation (CA)2

IT Project and Portfolio Management
This category is for state initiatives which have developed a framework, governance processes, policies and systems for the efficient management of IT investments from concept, funding, implementation, operation to retirement. This category can include activities designed to improve the investment evaluation and selection process for IT projects; improving the project management discipline through training, mentoring, and career-path efforts; strengthening the management and transparency of individual projects to ensure that funds are being expended properly and that projects are within scope, schedule and quality; or projects to improve the management of the state's existing IT project portfolio. All nominations will be considered based on the merits of the management process, rather than the product of the project.

RECIPIENT:
Virginia - Virginia Technology Portfolio 2.0

FINALISTS:

• California
  How to transform from a Project Management Office to a Performance Management Office on a shoestring budget
• Oklahoma
  Information Technology and Telecommunications Application