WV Office of Technology a Finalist for National Awards

West Virginia Department of Administration officials announced August 29 that the West Virginia Office of Technology (WVOT) was selected as a finalist in two categories for the 2011 National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Recognition Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology in State Government.

This annual awards program recognizes outstanding information technology achievements in the public sector. “Successful information technology initiatives in state government deserve to be highlighted and shared in order to promote innovation, foster better government, and engage citizens, according to a NASCIO press release.

The WVOT is a finalist in the categories Cross-Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships; and Risk Management Initiatives.

The Statewide Local E-Government Implementation and Adoption Program is the WVOT’s entry in the former category. This project is a means to enhance West Virginia’s local government web presence through a coordinated investment of public and private resources. The WVOT partnered with the West Virginia Municipal League, the West Virginia Association of Counties, the Community Connect Foundation, the West Virginia Department of Education and West Virginia Interactive to create a statewide portal for all county and municipal governments. Through this collaborative effort, a new curriculum for public high school students was created that combined civics education and technology training. This program enabled students to interact directly with their local government officials. The information collected through this process was ultimately used to build local government websites. The states of California and Virginia are the other finalists in this category.

The WVOT Cyber Security Program is a finalist in the Risk Management Initiative category. It is based on the development of an Executive Branch Information and Cyber Security Program, which has brought a substantial reduction of risk to state information systems and data. This reduction can be directly attributed to the application of standards-based policies and controls, the increased use of best practices, greater visibility into the network with automated identification of anomalous events, and raised awareness on the part of virtually all state employees. The states of California and Tennessee are the other finalists in this category.

“Three years ago, the West Virginia Office of Technology was proud to become a finalist in the NASCIO Awards Program, since our state had not been recognized nationally by this organization for the past 20 years. Today, we are celebrating our third consecutive year as a finalist. This success demonstrates the dedication and hard work of our employees who serve the state in creating innovative solutions,” according to Chief Technology Officer Kyle Schafer. “These award nominations are certainly a motivator to continue to find and provide quality programs and services to the state while reducing costs and saving taxpayers’ money.”