Virginia.gov has been recognized by Juggle as one of the top state government sites on the web. Below you'll find an interview with Deanna Boehm, Director of Marketing for Virginia.gov / Virginia Interactive, and Marcella Williamson of VITA.
- Virginia.gov is a top-notch web portal; what has been your role in its development?
Virginia.gov is the result of a mutually beneficial relationship between the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) and Virginia Interactive (VI). Virginia Interactive, a subsidiary of NIC, manages the Commonwealth of Virginia’s portal and brands eGovernment Websites and services as Virginia.gov.
- Can you give me some of the history behind the Virginia web portal?
Since 1998, VI has managed Virginia.gov, the official homepage for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia.gov provides a single, centralized window to government related Websites, information and services. The Virginia.gov portal has placed in the top five of the Center for Digital Government’s national “Best of the Web” contest every year eligible to compete since 2001 - including two first place awards. In addition to the overall “Best of the Web” portal achievements, several Virginia.gov features, including LiveHelp and Widgets, have also received prestigious awards.
- What are the overarching objectives of Virginia current e-government initiatives?
The Commonwealth of Virginia, like many states, has faced numerous challenges over the last few years. A tough economy, budget cuts and leadership changes have contributed to evolving transformations. Through all these adjustments, the Virginia.gov portal has emerged as a constant, with a “keen, lean and green” mission:
- Keen – Provide bleeding-edge, valuable services to citizens
- Lean – Save citizens money and support agencies with tight budgets
- Green – Use automation to reduce manual and paper processes
The most recent Virginia.gov launch targeted six goals:
- Leveraging Geographic Information Systems (GIS)/mapping
- Advancing eGovernment Web 2.0
- Facilitating transparency and data sharing
- Promoting online services and transactions
- Enhancing interfaces, maintaining accessibility
- Supporting the new administration’s key initiatives
To tackle these objectives, the VITA/VI team researched, developed and implemented new features that include robust GIS mapping, real-time social networking feeds, improved home and landing page organization, “blog-like” news feature, Web 2.0 citizen ratings and an A/B testing tool.
- From a marketing standpoint, what are some of the strategies that you have utilized to draw attention to the information and services provided by Virginia.gov, both on- and off-line?
Marketing is a key component of the success of Virginia.gov. The portal utilizes a variety of strategies to drive adoption of Virginia’s services. Virginia.gov’s rotating focal point and services carrousel direct users to automated eGovernment functions. In addition, the marketing team members deliver the Virginia.gov message to businesses and citizens through trade shows, direct mailings, eNewsletters, publication advertising, service brochures and press releases.
- How has citizen feedback influenced the development of Virginia's e-government services?
Virginia.gov relies on usage analytics, constructive feedback and survey input to place content in intuitive locations for citizens. The Help Center and LiveHelp solutions continue to be excellent resources for assisting citizens. In 2010, the Virginia.gov team took citizen feedback one step further by implementing A/B and multivariate tests into the portal to gather click conversion data for interface decisions. In addition, the new Web 2.0 citizen 'star' rating functionality has been strategically placed throughout Virginia.gov on recently implemented portal features.
- What is the most-used feature or service on the site?
The Commonwealth Banner, found at the top of Virginia.gov and many Virginia government Websites, provides rich functionality for citizens. In addition to presenting a common look and feel element on official government sites, the enterprise search box enables users to search across all government Websites for the information they need.
- Virginia.gov's online chat service would seem to be a very useful feature for a state government website. How many people are utilizing the service, and who manages it (i.e. a third-party)?
LiveHelp on government Websites was pioneered by Virginia.gov by offering real-time, web- based customer support directly to citizens. Virginia.gov took this initiative to the next level by connecting agencies and local government partners into a customer service network -- including the Virginia Tourism Corporation, State Board of Elections, Virginia Business Information Center, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and Department of Minority Business Enterprise -- into a customer service network. Agency resources can save time by making use of canned responses that can be set up and customized using the agency’s existing knowledge base. Resources formerly spent on traditional methods of customer service can be reallocated to other areas as the Live Help service has a proven track record of reducing customer service costs.
- Can you outline your strategy for social media integration (Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, etc.)? How do you see this evolving over the coming years?
Social media networks allow Virginia.gov to connect with citizens more than ever before. Many Commonwealth agencies and localities have recognized the value of Web 2.0 and social networks, evidenced by the increasing number of commonwealth Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr sites to pollinate information, such as promoting Virginia tourism and distributing emergency updates. In addition to maintaining a centralized directory of these channels, Virginia.gov implemented new home and landing page features that include 'sliders' for dynamic social network feeds, a new Spotlight on Virginia blog featuring state-wide weekly Web articles, and interactive rating functionality enabling citizens to provide Web 2.0 real-time dynamic feedback.
- In what ways has social media allowed you to connect more directly and personally with the citizens of Virginia?
Virginia.gov’s top mission is connecting with citizens. One of our most successful and popular features is the award-winning Virginia.gov widgets. Widgets are movable, sharable mini-applications used by citizens to craft custom experiences on their desktops, start pages, custom homepages (such as iGoogle), social network sites, blogs or mobile phones. From lottery numbers to election results, Virginia.gov’s widgets provide a new means for citizens to obtain real time information from their government about a diverse range of topics – where and when they want it.
This innovative method of content delivery benefits the portal, citizen users and Virginia government entities that employ the technology. Transparency and speed of information delivery are significantly enhanced by enabling portable content. Instead of visiting the state Website then clicking on links to download updates, citizens add widgets to their preferred personalized social network, blog or personal Website, enabling them to easily view dynamic content including election results, lottery numbers and winery events.
The portal, as the centralized delivery point for Virginia government entities, provides easy access to relevant dynamic content. The approach is unconventional; traditionally, Website providers’ goal has been to drive traffic to their own Website. By allowing users to choose portal content and post it on their own sites, the portal has fulfilled its mission of government information delivery without insisting upon return visits to the parent site.
- How do you see e-government advancing in the next 2-3 years? Are there any exciting new features or services currently in the works for Virginia's web portal?
Over the years, Virginia.gov has demonstrated its commitment to improving information delivery to citizens. Our future goals will focus on utilizing 'bleeding edge' technologies to lead advancements in the eGovernment arena. As we speak, new enhancements are in the works, but under wraps, until they will be available to commonwealth citizens.
- Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about Virginia.gov?
Virginia.gov is focused on being an eGovernment leader - committed to providing a web gateway to government information that meets citizens’ needs - today and in the future.