2004 Excellence.Gov Awards 

"Top 5" Federal E-Government Programs of 2004

• BusinessLaw.gov, Small Business Administration – BusinessLaw.gov simplifies how new businesses apply for and obtain State and Federal Employer Identification Numbers (EIN) through a single online web portal, reducing the time required to search multiple web sites and enter data within multiple, repetitive forms. This application streamlined data exchange between federal and state governments, ultimately delivering a $500,000 return-on-investment in just nine months.   
• Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR), Securities and Exchange Commission – Previous to the launch of EDGAR, investors faced up to a 90-day wait to see buy-and-sell transactions made by substantial owners of stocks. EDGAR now accepts the electronic filing of ownership reports on-line where the information is immediately disseminated to the public so that investors can make more informed, timely investment decisions.   
• National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) and Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB), Department of Health and Human Services – The NPDB and the HIPDB are national data banks containing certain adverse information on health care practitioners (e.g., physicians and dentists), providers, and suppliers. These two systems improve health care in the United States and help to combat health care fraud and abuse by providing timely access to adverse information relating to physicians, dentists, and other health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers.   
• Disaster Management, Federal Emergency Management Agency – Disaster Management is a single source of cross-agency disaster-related information or services to accelerate and improve disaster preparedness, mitigation, and response. The system’s value is in saving lives and reducing property damage through more effective information sharing. This sharing takes place both within the emergency responder community and across the nation's citizens, businesses, and other organizations.   
• Federal Technical Data Solution (FedTeDS), Defense Information Systems Agency – The Federal Technical Data Solution (FedTeDS) was designed as an online dissemination solution to safeguard acquisition related information for use by all Federal agencies. The system has improved the efficiency, credibility, and effectiveness of the acquisition and logistics support process by streamlining the Federal procurement process.

 The “Top 25” Excellence.Gov Award Finalists for 2004 (listed alphabetically by agency):