HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-02-20 Hawaii County Wins Award for New Websites launched in 2019-- press release
Media Contact:
Madeline O’Phelan
651.341.3878
madeline.ophelan@granicus.com
Granicus Recognizes 16 Government Organizations
for Excellence in Digital Transformation
The Granicus 2019 Digital Government Awards honor transformational digital
achievements improving government efficiency, effectiveness, engagement, and service
delivery
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 20, 2020 — Granicus, the leading provider of cloud-based
software solutions and digital engagement services for the public sector, today announced the recipients
of the 2019 Granicus Digital Government Awards. The winners implemented transformational digital
initiatives that demonstrate excellence in online service delivery, citizen experience, process efficiency,
and program-driven outcomes.
“By embracing and harnessing the power of modern, digital technologies, government leaders are
reimagining what’s possible as they build strong communities, strengthen connections with citizens, and
drive life-changing outcomes for the people they serve,” said Mark Hynes, CEO of Granicus. “The
Granicus Digital Government Awards provide a showcase for this important work and honor those that
made these achievements a reality.”
2019 Digital Government Award Winners
Granicus recognizes leaders in six award categories: Tech Trailblazer Award, Citizen Service Award,
Digital Efficiency Award, The Difference Maker Award, Innovator of the Year Award (Individual), and
the Modern Website Award. Each category includes winners from federal, state, and local government
agencies. Any government organization was eligible to participate.
Tech Trailblazer Award
The Tech Trailblazer Award is Granicus’ highest honor for leaders in public sector digital transformation.
This award, recognizing digital transformation excellence, identifies initiatives that have delivered a
profound improvement in government activities, processes, and/or competencies by transitioning from
outdated tech or in-person interactions to modern digital technologies.
● City of Georgetown,Texas: Increased civic participation and streamlined the board application,
review, and selection process by bringing the entire process online — filling board vacancies for
its 220 seats quickly and efficiently.
● Weld County, Colorado: Doubled its opt-in subscribers of county-related news and information
as a result of ongoing and targeted communications — leading to a more engaged and connected
community.
● New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: Keeps taxpayers and businesses
updated with targeted and relevant communications resulting in engagement rates of over 70%
and improved overall taxpayer experiences.
Citizen Service Award
This award recognizes organizations that have leveraged digital technologies to improve a public service
capability and enhance the citizen experience.
● City of Arlington Water Utilities: Combined digital communications regarding water-usage
with online service access to give customers new ways to control their water bills and reduce
overall water usage.
● Oregon Department of Transportation: Leveraged targeted and effective digital
communications to help manage Oregon’s transition to REAL ID and proactively reduce lines
and wait times at DMV locations supporting the program.
● Transportation Security Administration (AskTSA): Introduced AI virtual assistants to
improve travelers’ experiences and wait times — effectively responding to online questions in
just under 1 minute (down from 49 minutes).
Digital Efficiency Award
This award is for organizations that serve as models in government efficiency — from reducing paper use
to streamlining labor-intensive processes.
● City of Margate, Florida: Increased efficiency in the meeting management process by replacing
time-consuming manual tasks with digital solutions — saving city staff over 100 hours and
10,000 sheets of paper.
● California State Teachers' Retirement System: Used modern, trusted, secure communications
solutions to significantly improve deliverability rates, and avoid spam blockers and blacklists to
bring important information to more educators across the state.
● Alameda-Costa Transit District: Increased efficiency at the state’s third-largest bus-only transit
district — using digital options to accelerate internal processes and reduce paper usage by an
astounding 57,000 pages per year.
The Difference Maker Award
Whether saving lives or feeding the hungry, this award recognizes organizations improving citizen
engagement and impact through a unique campaign purpose, effective content, and exceptional outreach
methods.
● City of Berkeley, California: Leveraged multi-channel crisis communications during massive
wildfires in California, bringing thousands of residents to local libraries for safety and relief.
● Alaska Department of Transportation: Implemented a multi-channel emergency response plan
during a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, bringing thousands to safe locations.
● U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Provides more than five million Veterans with access to
their electronic health records and other digital tools for proactively managing their health.
Innovator of the Year Award
This Innovator of the Year Award, the only digital government award presented to an individual,
recognizes an enthusiastic government leader who delivers results by solving problems in unique ways.
● Francisco Salguero, Deputy Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture:
Contributed to $42.3M in cost savings by aligning teams in concert with technology
modernization initiatives designed to reduce the agency’s data center footprint, improve power
utilization efficiency, decommission obsolete equipment, and repurpose labor.
Modern Website Award
This award goes to organizations that used a data-driven approach to strengthen the relationship between
government and citizens through a modern, mobile-friendly website.
● City of Kansas City, Missouri: Placed citizen experience at the center of its website redesign
approach, delivering an improved experience and quickly connecting residents to the services and
information they are searching for.
● The City of Port St. Lucie, Florida: Launched a mobile-friendly and accessible website that,
with more intuitive navigation, greatly improves the customer experience.
● The County of Hawai'i: Launched two website redesign projects in 2019, including one
dedicated to Kīlauea eruption recovery that has been pivotal in sharing information with victims
and coordinating services with relief agencies.
About Granicus
Granicus connects governments with the people they serve by providing the first and only civic
engagement platform for the public sector. Nearly 4,500 federal, state and local government agencies and
more than 200 million citizen subscribers power an unmatched Subscriber Network that turns government
missions into quantifiable results. With comprehensive cloud-based solutions for communications,
government website design, meeting and agenda management, records management, and digital services,
Granicus empowers stronger relationships between government and citizens. For more information on
how to automate and streamline processes, reduce costs, and increase transparency, visit Granicus.com.
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