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Minnesota is relying on enterprise self-service applications and a systems integrator to introduce its citizens to e-government. Minnesota officials said today they will use both InfoExchange Portal and One-To-One Content software from BroadVision to give citizens easy access to their states information and services.
Deloitte Consulting is the systems integrator for the project. BroadVisions portal software will sit on Deloittes technology platform, says Simon King, VP for advance strategy at BroadVision.
The launch date for the portal is March 16. The project has been in progress for four months, according to Regina David, assistant commissioner of technology for Minnesota.
She says having an active and engaged citizenry is a goal of her states electronic-government initiative.
Minnesota has had a Web presence since 1998, but its various agency sites are static. The portal will be an interactive tool through which users can access any of about 100 state agencies from one point.
Minnesota has been known as a leader in the use of technology to connect citizens with information about their local governments. The state was always in the top 10 as ranked by Governing Magazine. Recently, though, the state dropped to 17th.
“Thats because there was no easy way for citizens to conduct business online,” David explains.
“We had to change the system to have one point of entry and easy navigation,” she says.
The state sent out a request for proposals about 14 months ago. Being a government body, it had a set amount of money to work with: $1 million. David has an in-house staff of four IT people. The state interviewed several vendors, and David says BroadVision was selected based on its open architecture.
BroadVision One-To-One personalization technology will be used to deliver targeted information directly to individual portal users. Registered users will have access to state-event calendars and content-change notifications based on their personal preferences. Other personalized features include a “featured links” section that directs users to information related to their searches.
Minnesotas government is one of the first organizations to adopt BroadVisions One-To-One Content content-management software. The product will allow Minnesota state agencies to develop, publish and collaborate on content for the new portal.
The next step is looking at services users would want to access from the portal. The state has conducted a study group and a survey, and has found citizens are interested in license renewal, communication with public officials, payment of taxes, voter registration and information on road conditions and weather, cultural events, tourism, and public health.
King says BroadVision is using XML for its portal content, since the state anticipates users accessing information via wireless devices.