CORRECTING and REPLACING Top Government IT Programs Honored at ACT-IAC Excellence.gov Awards Luncheon

Award-winning programs showcase the best in federal IT innovation

FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First sentence of the bullet point under "Best Mobile App (new category for 2011)" in release dated March 16, 2011, should read: MyTSA – The Transportation Security Administration designed this application... (sted MyTSA – The U.S. Department of Transportation designed this application...)

“The 2011 honorees are some of the most impressive we’ve seen yet. These winners redefine government IT program standards and raise the bar for what we can expect to see in the future.”

The corrected release reads:

TOP GOVERNMENT IT PROGRAMS HONORED AT ACT-IAC EXCELLENCE.GOV AWARDS LUNCHEON

Award-winning programs showcase the best in federal IT innovation

The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) today revealed its seven winning government information technology (IT) programs during its 9^th Annual Excellence.Gov Awards luncheon in Washington, D.C. The annual event honors programs that have pushed the boundaries of innovation, quality, and overall effectiveness in the federal government’s management and use of IT to improve services to citizens, enhance government operations and provide a more open and transparent government.

“With the growing demand and popularity of user-friendly government IT applications comes an influx of more innovative, original tools and services used by agencies and the citizens they serve,” said Ken Allen, ACT-IAC Executive Director. “The 2011 honorees are some of the most impressive we’ve seen yet. These winners redefine government IT program standards and raise the bar for what we can expect to see in the future.”

A panel of 35 judges, made up of government and industry executives, considered nearly 100 programs before narrowing the field down to the seven winners recognized at this year’s awards presentation:

Excellence in Enhancing the Customer Experience

• Electronic Permitting/Remote Wireless Project in the Four Rivers Recreation Area of the Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service developed an IT solution that has streamlined the white water rafting permit application process. Traditionally receiving more than 17,000 paper applications, they have implemented an online system that, in its first year, reduced paper applications by 60 percent. Additionally, it is projected to save more than $2.5 million over its first five years.

Excellence and Innovation in the Use of Social Media

• Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Social Media Program – The Defense Department Defense Centers for Excellence are employing a program that assists service members, veterans, and their families by providing them with vital information on available programs and resources related to Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Excellence in Intergovernmental Collaboration

• All Partners Access Network – The Defense Department Pacific Command designed a program that uses a variety of social media tools and document and file sharing to create an online community outside the military firewall where the Department of Defense can collaborate freely and securely with non-traditional partners like non-governmental organizations, academia, private organizations, and international organizations.

Excellence in Improving the Operations of Government

• Direct Express Debit Mastercard for Recurring Benefit Payments – The Treasury Department Financial Management Service developed an electronic payment program that provides millions of senior citizens, people with disabilities, and other Americans who lack access to traditional banking services with a safer, more convenient way to receive their federal benefit payments than paper checks. With over a one billion payments made to more than 100 million people annually, converting from paper to electronics, could result in a potential costs savings of 93 cents for each transaction.

Excellence in Improving the Workforce

• Case Adjudication Tracking System – The Defense Department Business Transformation Agency, was seeking to reform and successfully solved the security and suitability processes to improve timeliness, reciprocity, quality, and cost efficiencies through the design and implementation of a secure, end-to-end IT solution as it related to Case Adjudication.

Excellence in Going Green

• Green IT Initiative – The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs has reduced the number of its servers from 185 to 17, and replaced their legacy interface/data controllers at 216 State Department. worldwide embassies and posts with a concise, centralized solution that has improved performance of four visa/passport IT systems and dramatically reduced hardware, deployment and maintenance costs, and energy requirements.

Best Mobile App (new category for 2011)

• MyTSA – The Transportation Security Administration designed this application with travelers in mind. It provides a quick one-touch dashboard of delay and security wait time information about any US airport, the impact of regional weather patterns, alternate flight routes, or security alerts.

Since its 2002 inception, the Excellence.Gov Awards Program has recognized over 150 exceptional federal IT programs. For more information on the 2011 Excellence.gov Awards please visit the ACT-IAC website at http://www.actgov.org/ExcellenceDotGov2011.

About ACT-IAC – Advancing Government Through Collaboration, Education and Action

ACT-IAC is recognized as the premier government IT community’s public-private partnership and is an example of how government and industry work together. We are a non-profit educational organization created to advance government in serving the public through the effective application of IT resources. Our education, training, programming and collaboration opportunities enhance and advance the government IT profession. ACT-IAC’s objective, vendor and technology-neutral, and ethical forum allows government and industry to collaborate and improve government through technology.

Learn more about our organization and how to become a member at www.actgov.org or call [phone].