2013 in Utah Government: Mobile Apps and Open Data

As I survey the landscape of digital government around the globe in 2013, there continues to be plenty of progress as government agencies recognize the value of making services and information available online.  In Utah, 2013 was a year of significant growth.  On one hand, we are experiencing record numbers of visitors to our Utah.gov domain, while on the other hand I am seeing some slowdown in the number of new services being added to our portfolio.  The open data movement has been a big driver globally.

In the midst of supporting all of the numerous business changes that occurred in Utah in 2013, there were also some major egovernment accomplishments.

1. Senate Passes SB283: Open and Transparent Government becomes a hot topic.
   Senator Henderson's bill raised the level of awareness in Utah about open data.  A report was completed by the Utah Transparency Board and submitted to the Legislature in November.
2. New Jobs.Utah.gov website features new services, responsive design.
   The Jobs subdomain is the busiest subdomain on Utah.gov. On a busy month, it has seen over 500,000 unique visitors and in 2012 processed over 11 million online job referrals.  Now that it features a responsive design, it will provide much better service for its fast growing contingent of mobile users.
3. Air Quality App provides data to mobile Android and iOS users
   With winter air quality becoming a bigger issue during the inversion season, Utah now provides a great solution for Utahns to check the status of air alerts anytime, anywhere. 
4. Utah.gov receives multiple international awards for design and innovation as best government website.
   The state portal continued to develop a comprehensive, data-driven approach to providing information and services to the public.  As a result, the site was named "Best Government Website" by the Web Marketing Association. Utilization of the Utah.gov site skyrocketed in 2013, with two months reaching 1.6 million unique viewers.
5. DTS publishes statewide mobile strategy
   The state published a new mobile strategy in May and implemented MDM for improved mobile security and service delivery.
6. Record number of unique visitors access the Utah.gov domain.
7. Cabinet works to introduce many information security enhancements.
   A cabinet level team was organized to elevate the level of importance placed on information security throughout state government.
8. Hundreds attend the 2013 Utah Digital Government Summit.
   Supported by eRepublic, the summit brought together people from across state and local government to share ideas on digital government.
9. Utah Bill Watch becomes popular mobile app, wins national award.
   Developed in minimal time, this new mobile app provides real-time access and notifications throughout the legislative session, providing regular updates in the bill-making process.
10. Utah.gov Google+ site attracts over 150,000 new followers.

Here is last year's top ten in Utah digital government.