Residents of LaGrange, Georgia, get free Internet access through the city's Internet TV Initiative program. Oklahoma citizens stay safe and sound from the weather and natural disasters under the OK-First program. U.S. citizens can now say goodbye to long lines and go online to do e-business with government on firstgov.gov.
Those governmental initiatives are among 15 finalists -- selected from 1,300 candidates across the country -- that each received $20,000 grants in the 2001 Innovations in American Government Award.
The annual awards program, founded and funded by the Ford Foundation since 1986, is administered by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government. Its mission is to recognize the governmental initiatives that have provided solutions to public problems.
"What the selection committee is looking for is how creative it is, how successful it has been, how well it helps address an important issue for the public, and whether it can be replicated," said Carl Fillichio, vice president of the Council for Excellence in Government.
So far, the program has given $15.9 million in grants to 255 governmental units at federal, state and local levels, and more than 85 percent of the award-winning programs have been imitated by other government agencies.
Although it doesn't sound like the most state-of-the-art project, the LaGrange Internet TV Initiative program, in partnership with Charter Communications, has offered free Internet access in a community where 91 percent of the households have cable access but half lack high-speed Internet access.
"It's like WebTV," said Joe Maltese, LaGrange director of Community and Economic Development. "It might not be as fast as high-speed Internet access, but it works quite well. Our goal is to help people who are afraid and feel discomforted to learn or do new things."
A wireless keyboard supplied with the service allows LaGrange citizens to simply turn on their cable channels in order to get online. The city also provides neophyte users with around-the-clock training through cable for the Internet, keyboard and e-mail.
"We're surprised, very excited and honored that we are chosen (as a finalist)," Maltese said. "We've done good things, and we hope that the review panel (of the awards program) will see what we've done."
Similarly, the mission of the Oklahoma OK-First program is to make sure that everyone in the state will be able to access updated information about inclement weather and natural disasters.
"We've always been a target of natural disasters," said Renee McPherson, associate director of the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. "Our goal is to inform crucial information to the public and save lives."
The program, initiated in 1996 by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey at the University of Oklahoma, offers weather data training to state public safety officials, who then forward messages to people in their respective communities.
In 1999, for instance, local officials made a precise judgment based on the information given by OK-First and protected countless lives before major tornadoes and floods struck.
"We feel that we have an excellent program regardless of whether we win or lose," McPherson said when asked about winning first prize. "The main thing is that we've saved many lives in Oklahoma."
Meanwhile, the governmental Internet portal firstgov.gov, managed by the General Services Administration, has not only served the needs of U.S. citizens nationwide, but also government agencies at all levels.
"It's two-way. It opens up the channel for both sides, and it's cost-saving," said Deborah Diaz, deputy associate administrator of the Office of Governmentwide Policy. "We're providing feedback channels. We listen to them (viewers) and react accordingly to improve information and services."
Not only does the website have the capability to search information from all 50 states -- giving users access to 47 million federal and state Web pages from a single location -- but it is easy, instant and secure to use.
"Those (features) are the most unique characteristics of firstgov.gov," said Diaz. "As far as we've known, nobody else does it right now."
Five winners, each to receive a $100,000 prize, will be selected on Oct. 17 at the National Press Club in Washington. The decisions will be made by the National Selection Committee, consisting of former elected officials, private-industry leaders and journalists.
