Top 10 for Digital Government in Utah in 2014

Today, digital is embedded into every aspect of government in Utah. It is the most effective way for reaching out to the public we serve in ways that could never be achieved before. Our services, our information; legislative, executive and judicial branches of government all use digital technologies to enhance the way the operate, to increase efficiencies and to interact in new and exciting ways.

Utah has become a truly digital state, but before I go further, I want to share a video about our state that was posted to YouTube yesterday.





In addition to being a state of great natural beauty, Utah is a state of hard-working people that have embraced the transition to digital and are now using it to create an advanced economy that leverages technology and innovation in numerous ways.

In 2014, 12 of every 13 Utah households have access to broadband. Almost every home has a PC and the state is increasingly mobile. We implemented a new Utah.gov portal design to reflect these realities using bold graphics and enhanced focus on interactive services.

Now, here is my top 10 list for 2014 (the 13th version, beginning in 2002):

1. Progress in Mobile Design. Following the release of our Mobile Strategy in 2013, we have been tracking our progress in adopting responsive design. We have gone from 13% to 60% of sites with responsive design and utilization has continued to grow. That is no small task for a domain with over 30 million pages of content and over 1100 interactive online services. A couple of examples of these new sites include:


• Human Services
• Utah Geological Survey
2. The Digital State. The Center for Digital Government biannual survey is a comprehensive look at about everything the 50 states do with regard to digital technology. Utah was 1st in two of six categories: Enterprise ICT and Citizen Engagement. This is what they said after Utah was again recognized with an "A" grade:
   
   "The public expects to be able to interact with their government using new convenient technologies, and with the new services that states like Utah are delivering, that expectation is being met, Sander said. “Particularly Utah has done an awful lot with raising the bar on electronic services, on direct citizen engagement, not just from the push information at them standpoint, but actually opportunities with them to engage and transact and do business with government,” he said. “All three of the As have done a lot in that regard.”
3. Legislature & Tech: the Online Democracy Award. 
   
   
   The Utah Legislature continues to fine new ways to use technology to improve public participation, collaborate more effectively, and promote open government. In 2013, the Utah Bill Watch app was a big hit. Improved website design and service delivery was also effective:
   
   From StateScoop: "The Utah Legislature’s website took home the 2014 Online Democracy Award for producing a superior legislative website during the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) 2014 Legislative Summit in Minneapolis."
4. Open Data Progress
   Shepherded by Senator Deidre Henderson and the Utah Transparency Board, SB70 passed the legislature with funding for more transparency and openness, including funding for a new open data portal which will go live on January 1, 2015 and a new central portal for open records requests that will be managed by the Utah State Archives.
5. A New Mobile App for Hunting and Fishing. In October, the Division of Wildlife Resources, working with Utah Interactive, produced a new mobile app for iOS and Android that made a lot of hunters and fisherman happy. It produced 7,000 downloads in just a few days. Just this week, it was named the best mobile government app of 2014!
6. A record number of users access the Utah.gov domain and its services. The people of Utah showed their approval of Utah's online government initiatives with a record number of unique visitors in 2015. This has produced 637 million page views in 2014.
7. Success with Google+ and Social Media. The state's Google+ page now has over 230,000 followers providing a great new channel for content distribution and feedback. In July, PTI announced that Utah received its 2014 Web 2.0+ award.
8. Utah Big Data Competition Five departments, including Technology Services, UDOT, the Departments of Health, Environmental Quality, and Public Safety teamed up with Big Data Utah and the Utah Hadoop User Group for a big data competition to look at air quality in Utah. After 10 weeks of training, 6 teams worked to analyze over 400 separate datasets to develop analysis of Utah's air quality and inversion challenges.
9. New website and online services for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.
   UDAF had a busy year, producing a nice upgrade the Utah's Own website, a new mobile app for food safety inspections, and new online services. With the new services in place, beekeepers can update the locations of their hives online, companies that have any type of license with UDAF can pay for multiple license applications and renewals in one batch transaction, and first time license applications can be submitted electronically. While the hive registration service only benefits beekeepers, the two licensing services can benefit all companies that have licenses or registrations with UDAF.
10. New DHRM website and Employee Gateway. Early in the year, the Department of Human Resource Management created two great new websites, enhancing the way the Department interacts with jobseekers and also creating a great new venue for employees to receive and track benefits and other information related to state employment. Both sites are excellent examples of responsive design for mobile users.