‘Best in Class’ Awarded to Hawaii.gov

Hawai’i Information Consortium’s Hawaii.gov was named Best in Class winner in the Government category for the second year in a row by the Interactive Media Awards. The award is given for planning, execution, and overall professionalism. It’s the highest honor in the IMA awards.

Hawaii.gov, launched in 2013, is the official government website of Hawai’i and was designed to provide easy mobile use with touch, speed, and accessibility at the top of its design achievements. In addition to providing necessary government information, the website provides highlights of Hawai’i’s diversity, native culture, and each of the Hawaiian Islands.

In 2014, Hawaii.gov shifted its focus from what citizens need to include what they would be specifically interested in. The website began to highlight things directly relevant to individuals through the use of a personalized service: my.hawaii.gov. With the changes in the website, my.hawaii.gov began to provide an integration of seven of the 17 departments and a history of businesses conducted online with the state.

“When it comes to our state’s website presence, Hawai’i is maintaining a level of excellence shared by few other states,” State Chief Information Officer Todd Nacapuy said. “This latest recognition for Hawaii.gov demonstrates how the State of Hawai’i can succeed when we combine innovation and responsiveness to the public’s needs. The eHawaii.gov team’s collaborative work with various departments across the state is an example of applying technology effectively to improve public access to government data and services and to promote transparency.”

Along with my.hawaii.gov, mySavings was created to demonstrate the benefits of citizens conducting business with the government online. The service creates awareness around the amount of paper, miles, and time saved.

Over 273 social media pages are offered by eHawaii.gov that provide easy information flow and access to the public.

The redesign of eHawaii.gov was conducted at no cost to Hawai’i taxpayers. According to officials, the project was funded through a public-private partnership between the state’s portal manager, Hawai’i Information Consortium, a subsidiary of NIC, and the state of Hawai’i.

Since itwas released in April 2013, the Best in Class award from IMA is the 15^th award it has been recognized with.