LANSING – The State of Michigan’s official web site has been named as the best in the country by the Center for Digital Government, the first time Michigan has received this award, part of the California organization?s Best of the Web competition.
Michigan was followed by Maine, Utah, Virginia and Arkansas to round out the top five sites in the country. This marks the first time that Michigan has received the Best of the Web award.
Michigan.gov offers access to more than 86 government agencies and provides more than 200 interactive on-line services.
?Michigan set the mark for delivering innovative, efficient and effective state government services to their many constituencies and we congratulate them,? said Cathilea Robinett, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government.
Teri Takai, Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology, said the award wouldn?t have been possible without the partnerships that has been created across state government to deliver state services, and information over the Internet. As a starting point, the former Michigan.Org site, where economic development and tourism information could be found, was combined with Michigan.Gov, where all the government information resided.
?We worked very hard to revamp the site this year so it keeps up with latest and greatest,? she said. ?We?ve improved the disabled access, made it multilingual, changed what appeared above and below the fold, and made it more citizen centric.?
More than 50 services were added last year with another 40 scheduled to go online this year.
?Every single one of our agencies are focused on bringing services to citizens in the most expeditious way,? Takai said. ?The changes have been driven from within. It?s not us pushing the departments, rather they are the ones that are coming and saying, ?we want to make this happen.? I?d rather have my customers saying they want more services and we figuring out how to handle the demand.?
Some of the key features include:
Foreign language navigation which allows information access for citizens whose primary language is not English
Text only functionality for sight impaired users and the ability to easily enlarge text sizes
The ability to access Michigan.gov through wireless devices, with more than one million individuals viewing content on portable devices
A ?podcast? site that allows streamed media to be downloaded to portable players, a great mechanism for reaching young audiences
Multi-channeled customer support, including help and contact features supplemented by a fully staffed 24×7 call center
A single electronic interface for processing credit card and debit payments via the Internet
A nationally recognized Internet mapping capability with a wealth of geographical information available for public consumption
Ability for corporations to file annual reports on-line, eliminating the paper workflow
Ability for employers to e-register for business tax identification, eliminating a burdensome paper application process
A statewide grants management system providing information and applications for over 200 grant programs in state government
The Michigan Timely Application and Permitting Service (MiTAPS), which provides for all permitting information and applications electronically in one location and dramatically speeds up the permitting process for businesses
Inclusion of vital information about Michigan travel through the link to the popular Michigan.org site.
The biggest challenge for Michigan.Org is attracting teens who will become full fledged users in a few years, Takai said.
?We?ve got to keep the site updated for them,? she said. ?I?m also fighting to keep up with the private sector and commercial sites out there. If you?re a citizen – and more and more are Internet savvy – they go out to Google and other places on the Net. When they come back to Michigan.Gov and don?t see those same services, they will think the state is behind, and stop coming at all.?
