Congratulations to the 2025 Commonwealth Technology Award winners
State and local teams across Virginia were celebrated at the 2025 Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) for their outstanding information technology initiatives that are shaping government services across the Commonwealth.
This year, 15 winning projects were honored with Commonwealth Technology Awards across four categories, recognizing innovative solutions that enhance efficiency, security and service to Virginians. Learn more about these impactful projects below.
IT in Serving the Customer and Business – State:
Office of Regulatory Management – Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT)
VPT is a centralized, web-based platform that brings openness and transparency to every step of the permitting process across multiple agencies. This tool allows applicants and the public to track the daily status as the permit progresses, showing the target and timeline for each step using a series of Gantt charts. VPT seamlessly pulls together boundary-crossing data, spanning multiple agencies, to be viewed in a single glance. In the same manner that you can track the status of your Amazon package or pizza delivery, you can track the status of a permit application with VPT.
Virginia Department of Health – VA MyEHDI Parent Portal
The MyEHDI Parent Portal is a secure, mobile-friendly platform launched by the Virginia Department of Health to give families real-time access to screening results for newborn hearing tests. Eliminating reliance on delayed postal delivery, it allows parents to view, download and share their child’s official report instantly. Used by over 1,800 families since launch, it modernizes interaction with government by making health data accessible, transparent and actionable, which drives faster follow-up, greater service awareness and stronger trust in early intervention systems.
IT in Serving the Customer and Business – Local:
Prince William County – PWC Works
Prince William County (PWC) faced a challenge: keeping residents informed and engaged in its initiatives. Despite having various communication tools, there was no centralized hub for tracking projects, and updates were shared during board of county supervisor meetings. Public engagement opportunities were limited to in-person sessions, making civic participation difficult for many. To address this, PWC launched PWC Works, an online engagement platform enabling users to get project updates, participate in surveys, contribute ideas and interact with government initiatives through a digital hub.
Chesterfield County – Digital Access for All Initiative
Chesterfield’s Digital Access for All initiative modernized local government services by eliminating inaccessible PDFs, improving mobile usability and embedding accessibility into daily operations. Led by the e-government services team, the effort rebuilt content into responsive, translatable formats, trained over 140 staff and resolved 8 million accessibility issues. This work improved efficiency, equity and service adoption as well as created a sustainable model for inclusive, business-friendly digital government.
Innovative Use of Technology – State:
Virginia State Police – STARS Infrastructure and Subscriber Upgrade
The Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS) provides a public safety-grade radio and data network to 22 authorized agencies. The STARS network and subscriber radio equipment were approaching end-of-life from a technological, serviceability and supportability standpoint. This project upgraded both to support vital performance, security and operational functionality. STARS was a five-year effort budgeted at $132.5 million, consisting of more than a dozen procurements including several requests for proposals. The project was completed on time and below budget by over $23.6 million.
Virginia IT Agency – VITA Commonwealth App Store
The VITA-COV Commonwealth App Store is a centralized collection of vetted, reusable business applications designed to help Virginia executive branch agencies save time, reduce costs and accelerate digital transformation. Hosted on VITA’s Power Platform Hub, the library includes starter apps developed by Microsoft, VITA and other agencies, with built-in governance and documentation. Apps are prioritized by the Power Platform community of practice and support both customization and enterprise-scale deployment.
Department of Labor and Industry – Project Starfleet
Project Starfleet accelerated and piloted the use of Microsoft Power Apps amongst Virginia agencies. The initiative created a solution marketplace of software applications that can be effectively shared and utilized by agencies for significant cost savings to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Innovative Use of Technology – Local:
Chesterfield County – Planning Pending Cases Application
Chesterfield streamlined access to zoning and development data by building a unified Pending Cases Application that pulls directly from the county’s enterprise system, eliminating data duplication across platforms. Launched in 2024, the tool features filterable listings, interactive maps and integration with AI-powered site search. The result is a faster, more accurate and accessible experience for the public while saving staff time and improving internal efficiency.
City of Fredericksburg – City Tree Management Initiative
Before 2024, city tree management relied on paper records, spreadsheets and phone-based citizen requests with limited tools for analytics, metrics or response and planning. Since then, with the help of community groups and volunteers, the city has inventoried and assessed over 13,000 city trees to develop and improve the tree canopy. Using customized ESRI’s ArcGIS Online desktop and mobile applications, the city implemented a city-wide tree management system that tracks maintenance and inspections, citizen requests, work assignments and includes a public website.
Innovative Use of Data, Analytics & AI – State:
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services – Synthetic Data Generator
The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services developed a homegrown synthetic data generator to enable the safe and scalable use of sensitive data in support of various use cases, including populating lower environments with meaningful data and supporting AI pilots. By leveraging strong data governance practices and open-source libraries, the tool ensures privacy while promoting innovation. With synthesized data now used across multiple initiatives, the solution reduces risk, enhances compliance and eliminates dependency on costly commercial tools.
Virginia Tech – DASH application
The Center for Geospatial Information Technology (CGIT) in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Geography at Virginia Tech has been supporting the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles highway safety office (DMV HSO) since 2010. CGIT released the Data Analytics System for Highway Safety (DASH), a platform to analyze historical crash information for Virginia. DASH delivers an impartial system for data-driven decision-making for the highway safety community. In addition to the DMV HSO, Virginia State Police are currently leveraging the platform.
Innovative Use of Data, Analytics & AI – Local:
City of Alexandria – Smart Intersections Project
The City of Alexandria, in partnership with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), installed multiple devices at one intersection to test devices from vendors claiming to collect near real-time data on object detection, traffic volumes and types and close calls between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. Planners and engineers use the insights generated to proactively redesign streets before crashes occur, advancing Vision Zero goals with precision and urgency.
Arlington County – AI-Driven Non-Emergency Call Diversion Initiative
Arlington County’s department of public safety communications and emergency management (DPSCEM) deployed an AI-powered solution using Amazon Web Services machine learning to streamline 911 operations. The system analyzes caller speech, identifies non-emergency inquiries and routes them via automated workflows, diverting over 22,000 calls in the first six months of 2024. This lightens dispatcher load, accelerates emergency response and optimizes resource usage. This initiative exemplifies forward-thinking public safety modernization through automation, efficiency and inclusivity.
Cybersecurity and Privacy Initiatives – State:
Department of Motor Vehicles – Identity Verification Source of Record (SoR) Project
Incode collaborated with the Virginia DMV to deliver an Identity Verification source of record (SoR) solution, integrating Incode's identity-matching service with DMV's on-premises facial database. This initiative biometrically authenticates Virginia residents during onboarding with third parties. The voluntary process involves comparing a resident's selfie with their DMV photo to prevent identity fraud, enhance security and streamline remote transactions. Hosted on premises at DMV, the solution ensures data privacy and compliance with strict regulations.
Cybersecurity and Privacy Initiatives – Local:
Virginia Defense Force – Cyber Security Assistance for Virginia Localities
The 91st Cyber Brigade of the Virginia Army National Guard and the 31st Cyber Battalion of the Virginia Defense Force conducted cybersecurity assessments for Commonwealth of Virginia localities, including four cities, seven counties and one town. The goal: strengthen their government's cybersecurity posture. These missions were conducted from January 2024 to May 2025 and included all regions of Virginia.
About COVITS
COVITS 2025 was held in Richmond on Sept. 16–17. Each year, COVITS brings together public sector leaders, innovators and changemakers who are shaping the future of technology in government. From digital transformation to strategic planning, this year’s two-day symposium delivered forward-thinking content, peer exchange and real-world insights.