Summary
The State of Rhode Island wanted to provide citizens with centralized access to public information on the web. Rhode Island created a set of interactive Web 2.0-based GovTracker Web Services, which allow for diverse software applications to share data despite being on different operating systems. The state's "media central" contains pages for blogs, podcasts, calendars, mashup pages and more. RI.gov
now also has open source do-it-yourself tools that allows the media and public to subscribe to the latest bills and elections information via RSS feeds.
RI.gov also includes a eDemocracy portal which has an ultimate goal of breaking down the divide that exists between government and the citizenry. Rhode Island hopes that by using the eDemocracy portal, citizens will become more informed and active due to the greater communication and accessibility that now exists.1
Business Challenge
The State of Rhode Island wanted to provide citizens with centralized access to public information on the web.
Approach Taken
Rhode Island created a set of interactive Web 2.0-based GovTracker Web Services, which allow for diverse software applications to share data despite being on different operating systems. The state's "media central" contains pages for blogs, podcasts, calendars, mashup pages and more. RI.gov now also has open source do-it-yourself tools that allows the media and public to subscribe to the latest bills and elections information via RSS feeds.
Rhode Island broke down their information,services and resources into the following categories on eDemocracy: 2
- Elections and Voting
- Stay Informed
- Kids, Youth and Democracy
- Understanding Government
- Resources
Results Achieved (metrics)
The web services established by Rhode Island not only allow citizens and civil servants to be better informed, but it also allows them to do business in new ways through the use of digital signatures and electronic forms. Rhode Island citizens can now easily renew drivers' licenses, pay taxes, or even reserve a camp site online.
Lessons Learned
Rhode Island adoption of web 2.0-based technology has allowed the government to be more immediately responsive and more directly accessible to its citizens. The services also helped to create greater public engagement in state legislation debates and other political discussions.
