2011 Excellence.gov Awards 

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.

Each finalist will receive:

·      An award to display at the organization.

 

·     Four (4) complimentary seats to the awards luncheon in Washington, DC on March 16, 2011.

 

·      One (1) complimentary government registration to the 2011 Management of Change Conference to be held at the Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Virginia on May 15-17, 2011.

 

·      One (1) complimentary tabletop display at the 2011 Management of Change Conference to exhibit the program.

 

·      Recognition at the awards luncheon, on the ACT-IAC web site and in press releases.

In addition to the above, each winner will also receive:

·      An invitation participate in a future ACT-IAC program.

·      One (1) complimentary government registration to the 2011 Executive Leadership Conference to be held at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia on October 23-25, 2011.