IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The U.S. General Services Administration Office of Citizen Services and Communications (OCSC) is proud to announce that www.FirstGov.gov, the U.S. Government's official web portal, is the winner of the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award. FirstGov was one of nearly 1,000 applicants for the 16th annual Innovations in American Government Awards and the only federal applicant among the finalists. "This award is recognition that President Bush is making government more responsive and accountable to the citizen," said M. J. Jameson, Associate Administrator for the Office of Citizen Services and Communications, where the portal is housed within the U.S. General Services Administration. "By offering citizens easy access to federal and state government information and resources, FirstGov.gov is narrowing the distance between citizens and their government."

"Every American should check out FirstGov.gov -- they'll be amazed at what they find," said David R. Gergen, Chairman of the Innovations in American Government National Selection Committee. "This is a program that not only makes government more accessible, but more responsive. FirstGov is a great winner."

According to a recent Hart-Teeter poll, 86 percent of E-Government users want one Web site or easy links to other Web sites with answers to their questions about government services. The poll found clear support for a portal that puts information about services in one place.

Pat McGinnis, President and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government said that FirstGov is truly innovative because it not only connects citizens and government in a powerful way, it strengthens our democracy.

FirstGov.gov is the "Front Door" to official government information and the Bush Administration's E-Government initiatives which connect citizens with government. FirstGov.gov helps citizens find and do business with government online, on the phone, by mail, or in person. The site connects visitors to a wealth of information, services and transactions from over 180 million pages of on-line government resources from federal, state, and local governments.

The Innovations in American Government Award is funded by the Ford Foundation and administered by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government

The FirstGov.gov Web site is managed by GSA OCSC. OCSC provides citizens with access to information in a variety of ways -- the Web, e-mail, telephone, fax, or print. FirstGov.gov is the official Web portal to the U.S. government. OCSC also leads USA Services, an E-Government initiative that seeks to make the Government more citizen-centric.

GSA is a centralized federal procurement and property management agency created by Congress to improve government efficiency and help federal agencies better serve the public. It acquires, on behalf of federal agencies, office space, equipment, telecommunications, information technology, supplies, and services. GSA, comprised of 14,000 associates, provides services and solutions for the office operations of over 1 million federal workers located in 8,300 government-owned and leased buildings in 1,600 U.S. communities.

Quelle: PRNewswire