Virginia is recognized as a leader in its use of information technology to increase citizen access to government. To increase awareness of both national recognition and best practices, award-winning IT initiatives are compiled here. In addition to narratives about recent Commonwealth honorees, several national sites referenced here offer helpful tools including examples from other states.

2015

  • 2015 NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards -- Enterprise IT Management Initiatives, Commonwealth of Virginia, VITA, Strategic Planning with Security as a Priority
  • Disaster Recovery Institute International Award of Excellence - - VITA was honored with an Award of Excellence from the Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) International. The award is given for excellence in continuity management, technology recovery and crisis management.

2014

  • TechAmerica Foundation -- Internet Services, E-Commerce & Mobility for eHHR
  • RichTech -- Innovation in Utilization Award for CRM
  • StateScoop GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year to Sam Nixon
  • Finalist -- American Council for Technology and the Industry Advisory Council ACT-IAC Excellence.Gov Awards for eHHR
  • Symantec Corporation to Mike Watson for state/local/regional government cybersecurity leadership
  • Government Technology Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers to CIO Sam Nixon

2013

  • National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Special Recognition Category for Virginia’s eGov Business Process Re-engineering
  • Center for Digital Government and McAfee Cyber Security Integration Partnership Award to VITA and Northrop Grumman for joint efforts to secure state and citizen data against the threat of cyber attacks
  • Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) Special Award for Leadership In Information Technology to Sam Nixon
  • Department of Defense Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Patriot Award to Dana Smith for her support of an employee’s participation in the guard
  • Microsoft Dynamics Customer Excellence Award for the Public Sector for CRM

2009 NASCIO Awards - Virginia honored with three first place awards, honorable mention

- Commonwealth receives more 2009 NASCIO honors than any state -

NASCIO logo 
In 2009, the Commonwealth was honored as the recipient of three prestigious first place winners and one honorable mention for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology in State Government by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). NASCIO's Recognition Awards Program, in its 21st consecutive year, recognizes programs that exemplify best practices, support the public policy goals of state leaders, assist government officials to execute their duties and provide cost-effective services to citizens.

2009 NASCIO Awards
Commonwealth InitiativeRecognitionCategory
Virginia Performs: Virginia's Performance Leadership and Accountability System Winner Data, Information and Knowledge Management
Virginia.gov Portal Widgets Winner Digital Government: Government to Citizen
Virginia Technology Portfolio 2.0 Winner IT Project and Portfolio Management
University IT Internship Partnership Honorable Mention Cross Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships

2009 Annual Telly Awards

"The Duhs of Security" security awareness video - Bronze Telly Award

"The Duh's of Security" WMV video with subtitles
(right click to download)

2008 NASCIO Awards - Virginia honored with two first place awards, honorable mention

In 2008, the Commonwealth was honored as the recipient of two prestigious first place winners and one honorable mention for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology in State Government by NASCIO.

2008 NASCIO Awards
Commonwealth InitiativeRecognitionCategory
Virginia's IT Infrastructure Partnership Winner Enterprise IT Management Initiatives
Interlocking Spheres of Collaborative Protection Winner Information Security and Privacy
Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center Honorable Mention Data, Information and Knowledge Management

2008 Best of the Web - Virginia.gov ranked #1 state Web site in the nation

Best of the Web 2008 logoVirginia's official state portal Web site, www.virginia.gov, was ranked the best in the nation by the Center for Digital Government in its prestigious 2008 Best of the Web competition. The honor follows an extensive redesign of the site in early 2008. The state Web portal is developed and managed through a public-private partnership between the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) and Virginia Interactive, a Richmond-based wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV).

The City of Virginia Beach was named as a finalist in the city portal category.

Two agencies, locality honored with Digital Government Achievement Awards

DGAA (Digital Government Achievement Award) logoVirginia also received two 2008 Digital Government Achievement Awards (DGAA) from the Center. The Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy's e-forms initiative and the Department of Taxation's telework initiative both received the prestigious awards, and the City of Newport News also was honored for its Open eGov program.

"Effective use of digital government tools on our state Web portal makes it easier for users to conduct their business with government and provides measurable cost and personnel efficiencies," said Lem Stewart, Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth. "This prestigious endorsement of our efforts by the Center for Digital Government is a win for the citizens of the Commonwealth."

Commonwealth ranks tops in 2008 Government Performance Project

TPS (Government Performance Project, Top Performing State) 2008 logoVirginia again received the top score in the Government Performance Project's "Grading the States 2008" report, the nation's only comprehensive, independent analysis of how well each state performs in serving the public. The project is headed by the Pew Center on the States. The report examines amd measures four key areas- money, people, infrastructure and information. In the first such rating in three years, Virginia achieved an overall grade of A- for performance. Only the states of Washington and Utah received equivalent high marks.

"Information" grade moves from A- to A

The Commonwealth received top marks in this category, improving on its previous score of A- to an A overall. Strategic Direction, Budgeting for Performance, Managing for Performance and Online Services and Information were rated as 'strengths' in this category by reviewers. The national average grade in this category was a B-.

2008 Digital States Survey

Digital State Survey 2008 Winner logoVirginia was ranked third in the nation in the Center for Digital Government's 2008 Digital States Survey, a comprehensive biannual review of digital solutions and best practices among state governments. The program is the nation's original and only continuous survey of state governments use of technology to serve citizens.

State chief information officers and senior executives from across the nation participated in the survey, which benchmarks progression in digital government. It covered a wide range of areas from infrastructure to online applications and new Web 2.0 technologies provided to citizens. This year's survey also included a first-in-nation measure of sustainability efforts, especially in the area of green IT.