Four State IT Projects Selected as Finalists for National Awards

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Tom Corbett announced today that four state IT projects have been selected as finalists by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) for its 2014 recognition awards. 

For the past 26 years, NASCIO has recognized states whose information technology initiatives exemplify best practices, support the public policy goals of state leaders, assist government officials in innovatively executing their duties and provide cost effective service to citizens.

The projects by the Office of Administration, Department of Public Welfare and PennDOT were among 33 finalists selected from over 100 nominations.  Winners in 11 categories will be announced at NASCIO's annual conference this fall.

"Pennsylvania is at the forefront of leveraging technology to transform state government operations to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve service," said Gov. Corbett. "These innovative projects are just a few examples of the changes that have taken place over the past three and a half years to make government work better for Pennsylvania."

The four Pennsylvania finalists are:

Department of Public Welfare – Automated Text Messaging for Child Support Communications

The automated text messaging system is used to send reminders for upcoming appointments, missed payments, and other events related to child support enforcement. Previously, parents would receive phone calls with a recorded message, a system that was becoming increasingly costly and ineffective. Using texts, DPW doubled the success rate of its communications and increased monthly child support collections by $1 million per month.

PennDOT – Posted and Bonded (Weight Restricted) Roads Mobile App

This mobile application allows PennDOT road inspectors to capture road conditions and update the information in real time using tablet computers. Previously, paper-based road survey reports were prepared and data was manually entered into a system, a process that was time-intensive and increased the opportunity for errors. The efficiencies created by mobile application have allowed PennDOT to lower the rate that heavy haulers must pay to use weight-restricted roads and resulted in an annual savings of over $500,000. 

Office of Administration – Portal Storm Exercise

This comprehensive cyber security/business continuity exercise brought together agency leaders, information technology staff, program managers, continuity planners and others to examine on the potential effects of a fictional cyber-attack that causes their websites to be unavailable. Rather than focusing on how the IT department responds to the incident, this exercise targeted how agencies would continue to provide information and services during the attack. A significant number of agencies identified alternate procedures for their most essential services.

Office of Administration – IT Central

This secure portal has transformed communication and collaboration among the commonwealth's 2,000 IT employees. IT Central includes a centralized application inventory, maintenance calendars for large computer systems, strategic plans, announcements, and discussion boards to share lessons learned and best practices.  The site is also a venue to showcase specific agency IT projects and recognize employees. All content on IT Central is logically organized and accessible via keyword search.

To learn more about the awards and view all of the finalists, visit www.nascio.org/awards/2014awards/.

Media contact: Dan Egan, Office of Administration, 717-772-4237

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor