INSIDE

TENNESSEE REPORT 2014

Education Standards Review Application Sets the Standard ...... 2

Join NIC’s Exclusive Online Community — the eGov Network Partner Portal ................. 3

TN.gov Website Honored With VEMA Multimedia Award ............4

A 15-Year eGovernment Partnership With TN.gov

Tennessee Division is entering its 15th year of a public-private part-

nership with the state of Tennessee. “NIC is very proud of the long-term partnership

we’ve had with the state of Tennessee and the online services it’s delivered,” said David Dahle, General Manager of NIC-Tennessee Division. “More than 15 million transactions and $6 billion are processed through TN.gov applications each year, and we look forward to building on this success with new, innovative applications that deliver value to the state and citizens across Tennessee.”

Over the past decade and a half, the state has released hundreds of eGovernment services that save businesses and citizens time and money, and also offer increased efficiencies for state agencies. Among these applications are the innovative and award-winning SmartWay mobile traffic app for iPhone and Android, self-service

The National Conference of State Legislatures awarded the Tennessee General Assembly a 2014 Legislative Staff Achievement Award for its new, innovative “Dashboard” Web application for legislators. The annual award

recognizes excellence in supporting the work of a state legislature and strength-ening the legislative institution.

With the arrival of the Dashboard, the General Assembly has redefined the admin-istration of its legislative process. Legislators enter a session, take out a tablet device, and immediately know where they are in the day’s schedule and what actions have been taken. The application also provides detailed bill information and proposed amendments to help legislators prepare for discussion and decision. All of the infor-mation is created and updated in real time, so documents and actions taken on a bill will appear on the Dashboard just seconds after the gavel drops.

Not only does the app provide a more efficient approach to passing legislation, it replaced a manually intensive process for research and bill-related documents, which included printing information packets each week. Changing the way analysts create and deliver critical documentation alone offers a two-year 210 percent ROI.

Responsive frameworks and the addition of touch-screen technology make the Dashboard ideal for mobile devices of all kinds, which is especially convenient for legislators on the move. n

Tennessee General Assembly Honored With Legislative Staff Achievement Award

NIC’s

| continued on page 2 |

2 | TENNESSEE REPORT 2014

Meet Katie FreemanTennessee would like to introduce its new director of

marketing, Katie Davis Freeman. A North Carolina native, Katie earned her B.A. in political science from Wake Forest Univer-

sity, and spent the first few years of her career working for members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Katie has been in Nashville

since 2010 and comes to us from the office of United States Senator Bob Corker.

In her role as director of marketing, Katie will focus on increasing communi-cation with our partners at all levels of the agencies to find new and innovative solutions as we continue to make govern-ment more accessible. While we’ve been a partner with the state for 15 years, we’re always working to better serve the businesses and citizens of Tennessee.

Katie can be reached at 615-313-0300, ext. 7315 or katie.freeman@egovtn.org. Welcome, Katie!

NIC

Education Standards Review Application Sets the Standard

In 2014 Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced a public review process to

obtain feedback from Tennesseans regarding the state’s education standards. The standards review application, designed, developed, and deployed within about 30 days, is part of that process.

The Tennessee English language arts (ELA) and mathematics standards set grade-specific goals that define what all students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of a given grade or course. There are more than 1,100 content standards in ELA and more than 900 content standards in math.

The application allows visitors to read each standard and vote on whether it should be kept as is, reviewed, or removed. If the vote is to review or remove, the respondent can provide supplemental information and comments.

During Gov. Bill Haslam’s 2015 State of the State address, he promised to move

“full speed ahead” in serving Tennessee taxpayers and highlighted many of the state’s successes. One of the successes mentioned was the Education Standards Review:

“If you haven’t visited the website, I encourage you to do so. So far, nearly 82,000 comments have been submitted. I expect that we’re going to talk about state standards this session, and I think it is important that we know exactly what the standards are that we’re talking about and possibly voting on.”

The application also received local and national media attention, including discus-sion on The Atlantic’s website. n

Katie Freeman

iPad kiosks for renewing driver licenses, and the Integrated Criminal Justice Portal.

In addition to first-rate applications, TN.gov, the official website of the state of Tennessee, is continu-ally recognized as a leader in the industry. In 2013 it was ranked the Best State Website by the Center for Digital Government, and in 2014 it received a VEMA Award for innovative, artistic, and creative work in the multimedia arts. n

A 15-Year eGovernment Partnership With TN.gov| continued from page 1 |

TN.gov Mobile Visitor Traffic Increases More Than 50 Percent in 2014

he official website of the state of Tennessee, TN.gov, saw a dramatic increase this year in visitors viewing the site on mobile devices and handheld tablets.

After a redesign in 2013, mobile traffic increased by 51 percent and tablet users increased by 68 percent in 2014. The redesign optimized TN.gov for a range of screen sizes – from monitors to tablets to phones – to provide easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling.

In addition to the redesign, Tennessee state agencies released eight applications that were either mobile apps or Web applications specifically designed for small screens. The Web applications were created using a responsive design, which adapts to the viewers’ various device widths and screen resolutions, providing better usability and viewing capabilities.

At least three mobile apps are in planning for 2015, including Restaurant Inspection Scores and Mobile Felony Offender Search, with many more to come! n

T

TENNESSEE REPORT 2014 | 3

Join NIC’s Exclusive Online Community — the eGov Network Partner Portal

It takes true partnership to make eGov-ernment work. At NIC, we would not be successful in developing eGovernment

without you – our government partners. We share your dedication to making government better for all – not as vendors, but as true team-mates working side by side with you every day to define problems and find solutions.

That’s why in late 2014, we launched the eGov Partner Portal – a secure, password-protected site exclusively for all of our NIC government partners. The new site includes several features to inform you about best practices within the industry, as well as a simple way to collaborate with your govern-ment peers across the country who are also NIC partners. To participate, simply ask your general manager for login credentials and soon you can begin enjoying:

• News & Case Studies: Executive summaries of eGovernment studies, daily industry news, and case studies

await on the Insights & Presentations section of the portal.

• Document Library: Explore even more content, like annual reports published by NIC portal teams, as well as archived webi-nars, within the portal’s Document Library.

• Services Database: Have you ever wondered what new services other NIC portals are launching? Or would you like to know if other government partners have launched a service similar to the one you are planning to develop with your NIC portal team? Find out these answers and more by searching the eGovernment Services Database. In addition, each month three new services will be featured on the Partner Portal’s home page.

• Collaboration: There are several ways you can collaborate with your govern-ment peers more effectively through the eGovernment portal. The portal’s Directory allows you to quickly search for

contact information for NIC staff, as well as your government peers. The Discussion Board provides you with an opportunity to join in conversation about hot topics across the industry, and from time to time the portal’s home page will feature a profile of one of your government peers.

We welcome your feedback, and hope you see the value of this new tool and use it as your resource for collaborating with other NIC government partners. We are looking forward to connecting with you and bringing our partnership to the next level.

No Budget? No Problem.Your Local Partner Can Help

Dedicated to providing innovative online services and secure payment processing solely to Tennessee government entities, NIC Tennessee maintains a Nashville office staffed with 33

team members. Fourteen of the 33 are native Tennesseans, and 21 of them went to Tennessee colleges and universities. All live, play, vacation, and pay taxes in the Volunteer State. In August 2000, NIC Tennessee won the first of three competitive RFP bids with the state of Tennessee to build and manage its eGovernment program. Under the contract, NIC Tennessee can work with any Tennessee state, county, or city government entity.

One benefit of the public-private partnership is that agencies have the option to fund their eGov-ernment projects at no cost to the agency. In addition to traditional methods of service delivery, such as in-person or mail, agencies can give citizens and businesses “Customer Options” via the Internet. Those who choose the Internet option pay a nominal fee to cover the cost of development, mainte-nance, and marketing. This benefits both citizens and businesses. The option was approved in light of studies that confirm, in this age of speed and convenience, customers will give a little extra to avoid standing in line or waiting for the next available representative. n

St. Jude Warriors

Members of the Tennessee team after the

2014 Warrior Dash for St. Jude Children’s

Research Hospital – Chris Cookley, Jeff

Jacobs, Michelle Johnson, Jonathan Strange,

Deb Kilpatrick, Jessica Winn, Brandon

Brown, Amanda Wimpy, Hannah Forbes,

Carson Gulley.

© 2015 Trozzolo.com

NIC, Tennessee Information Division330 Commerce Street, Suite 100Nashville, TN 37201

615-313-0300

TN.gov Website Honored With VEMA Multimedia Award he State of Tennessee’s official website, TN.gov, received a 2014 VEMA Award for innovative, artistic,

and creative work in the multimedia arts. The most recent website redesign intro-

duced a dramatic new look with media-rich content tiles, localized information, and social media interactivity. The design was influenced by a 20 percent increase in mobile usage, and optimized for a range of screen sizes – from monitors to tablets to phones –

to provide easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling.

The VEMA Award is sanctioned and judged by the VEMA Arts & Standards Council, an invi-tation-only body consisting of a distinguished group of highly skilled professionals with expertise, leadership, and vision in the various disciplines within the multimedia arts. n

Online Tax Filings at All-Time High

T

More than 75 percent of all tax returns are now filed online, increasing the accuracy and efficiency of returns.

2013 Most Used TN.gov Online ServicesNumber of Transactions in Each Application Category

Personal

4,671,175Child Support Payment Summary

2,445,783Felony Offender Search

444,880 Check License Reinstatement Status

Government

1,412,249 Integrated Criminal Justice Portal

423,897Agency Moving Violations Search

33,261 Case Management Utilization Review

Business

1,711,279 Interactive Moving Violations

971,147 Sales Tax Filings

336,825 Vehicle, Title & Registration Search

TN.gov Customer Support Assisted 84,625 People in 2014