Governor Pat McCrory’s nationally-recognized Innovation Center (iCenter) is pleased to announce the winners of North Carolina’s first Innovation Awards. The Innovation Awards were launched to recognize the excellent work being done to make government more effective, efficient and user-friendly for the citizens of North Carolina.
“Technology is the key to making state government more efficient and the Innovation Awards recognize the outstanding, cutting-edge technological advancements throughout state government,” said Governor McCrory. “Since day one, we have worked to make government more efficient and consumer-friendly at a cost that is accountable to the taxpayers. These awards are evidence that our vision is becoming a reality and innovation is driving better service for the citizens of our great state.”
The following entries were selected as award recipients for their respective categories:
- Best IT Collaboration- Billy Hylton, Digital Commons Project
- In order to improve North Carolina’s digital presence, Governor Pat McCrory and the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (DIT) proposed the Digital Commons project led by Billy Hylton. The goal of this project was to create a citizen-focused, efficient, and cost-effective web and digital presence for the State. Since the launch of the redesigned nc.gov: the number of site users has tripled, page views have more than doubled and the number of mobile users has more than tripled.
- Most Innovative Social Engagement- Marc Burris, Short Message Service (SMS) Project
- Led by Marc Burris, the North Carolina State Board of Elections recently implemented an SMS project that addressed the problem of voters showing up at the wrong polling place on Election Day. The SMS voter lookup allows poll workers to look up a voter and direct them to the correct polling location via SMS.
- Best Application Serving the Public- Marc Burris, Election Night Return System
- Led by Marc Burris, the North Carolina State Board of Elections recently created and implemented an Election Night Return System, which is able to handle the massive page requests during the election cycle. This system can collect and synchronize data from more than 2,700 polling locations statewide and produce results very quickly. Following the 2016 primary election, the Associated Press applauded the system and said, “Our compliments to the NCSBE web results. The site was fast, dependable and well designed with huge workability and data available in many formats.”
- Best Wireless Project- Michael King, Wireless for Welcome Centers
- The North Carolina Department of Commerce was recently approached by the North Carolina Welcome Center manager with a need to provide support for planned kiosks and wireless public-facing, self-registration units. Michael King of Commerce Information Technology collaborated with the iCenter to arrange a demonstration of potential hardware solutions. Since then, units have been deployed and now provide the wireless coverage needed at North Carolina Welcome Centers.
- Excellence in Project Management- Tim Muhs, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Project
- The Division of Mitigation Services (DMS) within the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) utilized the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to link their project and financial data into one cohesive system. This project entailed the creation of a new database replacing an aging system and an in-house database. The new system will increase efficiency and allow users to have full details of all project attributes.
- Best Data Analytics Initiative- John Correllus, Open Budget
- The open budget initiative is a way to learn how North Carolina spends tax dollars and other revenues through data visualization. This program is managed and delivered by the Office of State Budget and Management with support of the DIT Government Data Analytics Center (GDAC) and other key partners. The initial capability was delivered this past spring, and increased data capabilities are planned in the future.
- Best Platform Serving an Agency- Mike Ware, SharePoint Project
- Recently, DIT noticed a problem in its collaboration capabilities. In order to improve its network of an inadequate search function and outdated content, DIT implemented a SharePoint solution, which was initiated by Mike Ware.
“I echo Governor McCrory’s sentiments of the innovative technology that’s now being utilized throughout North Carolina,” said Secretary Keith Werner. “As the first Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, it’s a top priority for me to advance the Governor’s vision of making doing business with the state easier for all North Carolinians. As technologies evolve, we need to evolve as well. Doing so will ensure we stay one step ahead in the way we deliver services to our citizens.”
The North Carolina iCenter was established in 2013 by Governor Pat McCrory as a proving ground for technologies before the State invests in them.