The District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) posted its newly reconstructed, constituent-friendly web site designed to give citizens, businesses, and visitors more online services and information. Among the new features are e- Services that offer nearly 100 online transaction capabilities, translation into seven languages, and a new Kid's Capital Site, providing information, biographies and games for children.
Delivering services over the Internet saves governments money, saves taxpayers time, supports small business, discourages corruption and encourages participation in government, and streamlines the bureaucracy, according to a report issued today by the Intergovernmental Advisory Board (IAB). Overall, electronic government (E-Gov) programs provide a wider range of benefits than originally envisioned by public administrator.
The Global TransPark's Education and Training Center this month launched a statewide virtual resource for small- to midsize businesses designed to thrust growing companies into the realm of opportunity.
The program, TeamNC, is designed to connect its members with state and federal contracts they might not be exposed to otherwise. Smaller companies also can join forces to fill large orders.
Read more: USA: GTP launches virtual database to grow businesses
The departments of Health and Human Services and State, the General Services Administration and the Agency for International Development took the biggest recent steps toward gaining green ratings for e-government on the President’s Management Agenda’s scorecard.
Read more: USA: Four agencies get e-gov rating boost on OMB management scorecard
Government reform is a perennial favorite issue, but no administration has been able to fully implement its plans for overhauling the operations of the federal bureaucracy. However, President Bush has taken a different approach that officials and executives say bodes well for making government, including electronic government, more efficient and accessible to citizens.
Read more: USA: Administration has hits, misses in implementing management agenda