State Website Recognized in Annual Competition for E-Government

(Lincoln, Neb.) Sept. 8, 2009 - Gov. Dave Heineman today announced Nebraska has received national recognition for the State Website.  The Center for Digital Government has recognized Nebraska as one of the “Top 10” websites in the country.  The Best of the Web awards rank the top U.S., state and local Web portals, recognizing advances in digital solutions and communication with citizens, government, communities, and business.

“We are committed to using technology to make government more efficient and make more services available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week,” Gov. Heineman said. “While much has already been accomplished, we must keep this momentum going to meet the challenge of serving our citizens of today and in the future.”

Nebraska’s Chief Information Officer, Brenda Decker stated, “The State’s website provides citizens an opportunity to interact with State Government on their terms and at their convenience.  We continue to receive feedback from visitors that assists us with making improvements or offering additional services.  We believe that it is this interaction with our visitors that provides Nebraska the opportunity to be recognized by this national award.”

Cathilea Robinett, executive vice president of the Center for Digital Government, said, “We congratulate the winners of this year’s awards.  They are terrific examples of first-rate ideas and collaboration on digital solutions which ultimately benefit citizens.”

Nebraska.gov was also noted earlier this year for providing users easy mobile access from phones and mobile devices. Nebraska was one of four state websites receiving an A+ from Government Technology magazine for offering mobile browsing features. The site automatically detects users accessing Nebraska.gov via a mobile device and loads the mobile version. A text-only version of the website is also available to users. 

The Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government, conducted the 2009 Best of the Web competition. 

Best of the Web evaluates government Websites based on their innovation, Web-based delivery of public services, efficiency, economy and functionality. The Center is a division of e.Republic, Inc., a national publishing, event and research company focused on information technology in the public sector.