1999 Outstanding Program Awards
Submissions
Public/Private/Non-Profit Partnerships

Submission Categories (click below to see the submissions in each category)

Public/Private/Non-Profit Partnerships * Human Resources/Training * Purchasing & Fleet Management * Public Works * General Governmental Services * Technology/Technology Application

Alaska - DMV Partnership Programs
aaaa In anticipation of declining budgets at the Division of Motor Vehicles, an idea was developed to expand on the existing concept of commission agents. The goal was to increase the number of locations to obtain DMV services in large population centers of the state.
aaaa A pilot project was initiated with a certified emission testing center in Anchorage because a large portion of the vehicles in Anchorage have to obtain an inspection prior to registration. With this project the emission inspection and the registration could be done at one stop. This partnership with private business rather than a contractual arrangement had the advantage that DMV would not pay the test facility for providing the service and the test facility would pay all of their own costs including the cost of the equipment and the connection to the Division's main frame coputer. By the end of 1995, when the project was originated, there was a partnership with 19 testing stations and more than 55,000 transactions were processed by these partners.
aaaa In 1997, the vendor registration renewal program was expanded to include new vehicle titling and registration. The next expansion of the partnership program involved snow vehicles. The DMV began partnering in 1995 with the commercial driving schools, school districts, school bus contractors, tour companies, and trucking companies to administer the road test for getting non-commercial and commercial driver licenses. These companies and organizations have been certified and trained to meet all the requirements in administering these road examinations. The latest partnership was developed to meet the needs of disabled and medically challenged Alaskans. The Division of Motor Vehicles has partnered with hospitals in the issuance of disabled/handicapped parking permits.
aaaa The State of Alaska partnership programs have shown innovation, good solid business sense and have enhanced services to the community and local businesses. There has been minimal revenue loss to the state. Through these programs, services have been improved to Alaskans.
aaaa For more information, contact Kerry Hennings, Acting Director, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Administration at 907-269-3771 or at Kerry_Hennings@admin.state.ak.us.

Georgia - TIGER
aaaa Through an innovative teaming approach, the state of Georgia joined forces with a leading provider of network planning services to support its communications network evolution. To support 70,000 users across 60 agencies, the state's Department of Administrative Services had created a strategic vision for its network that centered on providing its agencies: efficient access to statewide applications; expanded support for agency specific applications; improved communications between agencies; and reliable, high-speed Internet access.
aaaa The resulting plan called for migrating the state's legacy SNA architecture to a multi-purpose network architecture for expanding applications. For improved performance and lower costs, the existing point-to-point infrastructure would be replaced with public frame relay transport. In addition, the plan included the implementation of a standardized access service platform across agencies in order to streamline support and better leverage vendor relationships.
aaaa Though rich in SNA expertise, the state had limited skills in distributed networking and was faced with aggressive timeframes to complete the migration. To help with this, the state hired Planning Technologies, Inc. The state and PTI worked closely together to create a focused set of initiatives that encompassed the entire network management lifecycle, from assessment and design to optimization and ongoing support. The Tactical Infrastructure for Georgia Enterprise Reengineering Team was the name that unified a partnership and fostered a highly cooperative environment between public and private resources.
aaaa Specific TIGER Team initiatives included: IT Program Management, Network Operations Center Skills Augmentation; Network Operation Center and Network Management Systems Assessment; Network Discovery; Customer Network Design and Planning and Account Management Technical Support.
aaaa Working with PTI, DOAS was able to complement its internal resources with a team of experts focused on business processes for effective migration. The partnership resulted in: improved staff utilization through retraining and reorganization; increased knowledge base to allow for greater self sufficiency; improved customer satisfaction through proactive support and instant identification of network issues; streamlined operation through simplified WAN architecture; and reduced costs. Beyond providing extensive benefits to DOAS and its specific functions, the partnership with PTI also provided direct benefits to DOAS agencies and its users, including: fast problem resolution and support; reduced staff requirements to support non-standard service; improved access to state information as well as the Internet; increased productivity; ability to focus on core agency functions; and strategically poised for expanding applications.
aaaa For more information, contact Bob Simpson, Director of Information Technology, at 404-656-3992 or at bsimpson@doas.state.ga.us.

Hawaii - Telehealth Access Network (STAN): A Model for Health Care Partnerships
aaaa The State of Hawaii Telehealth Access Network (STAN) interconnects public and private health care providers, educational institutions, research organizations, and other related health care entities. STAN extends the delivery of health care and education into very rural communities in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands Region.
aaaa The STAN was developed through the conscious recognition that through partnerships all Health Care Providers (HCPs) can benefit from reduced costs, increased capacity, and/or increased connectivity for telehealth and telemedicine. STAN has significantly improved Hawaii State Government's ability to fulfill its special obligation to deliver quality, accessible, and cost-effective health care and education to rural communities in Hawaii.
aaaa The network currently links 16 health care providers in rural and urban communities in Hawaii and American Samoa and has direct interconnections with the networks of higher and lower education in the Pacific Islands Region. The network is used for distance learning, health and medical care consultations, transfer of medical imagery (teleradiology, telecardiology, teleneurology, etc.), administrative teleconferences, information access (Internet, Intranet), and patient eligibility information system applications, to name a few.
aaaa The core partners recognized that by partnering in the building of the network and applications each would benefit since none of the HCPs, educational institutions, carriers, or high technology corporations had the resources and/or expertise to develop a network and applications by itself. All recognized the importance of building a critical mass to achieve these objectives.
aaaa The STAN is extremely cost effective and has a ROI of 33 percent annually when equipment and other capital expenditures are amortized over five years.The design of the network is based on an ATM backbone that interconnects public and private HCPs, educational, and other related facilities. Additionally, the network accommodates both Frame Relay and ISDN.
aaaa For more information, contact Thomas Driskill, Jr. , President and CEO, at 808-733-4151 or at tdriskill@hhsc.org.

New Mexico - Questa
aaaa Questa, New Mexico is a small village with 1,700 residents in Northern New Mexico, is an isolated valley 20 miles south of Colorado. Like many small town in New Mexico, Questa lacks telecommunication infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access. Historically, telecommunications companies have not been willing to make the needed investments.
In 1998, the New Mexico Department of General Services entered into a joint private/public innovative project to upgrade the town's link to the Internet with state-of-the-art digital technology. The state owns and operates a system of 68 mountaintop towers across new Mexico that provides radio communications. The system, based on antiquated voice only technology, gives law enforcement officers, emergency medical personnel, and firefighters the ability to communicate with each other and their dispatchers. GSD upgraded to digital technology portion of the system in conjunction with Los Alamos National Laboratories, the Village of Questa, Presbyterian Health Care, Plains Electric and LaPlaza Telecommunity, a local Internet provider, to provide high speed Internet access to Questa. Questa now receives the needed bandwith for high-speed Internet access through the state's current microwave system and digital radios that were installed specifically for this project.
aaaa Funding for the same type of system provided by independent providers of communications services, long term would have cost the village the installation fees with bringing the service (about $25,000) and the monthly service fees for communications services (about $3000 per month) for T1 bandwith. This is making an assumption on the possibility that providers could even deploy facilities in Questa.
aaaa The village and the people of Questa have seen tremendous benefits from this program. From economic development to improved educational opportunities and public safety.
aaaa For more information, contact Steven Beffort, Cabinet Secretary, at 505-827-2000 or at sbeffort@state.nm.us.

Vermont - Closed Loop Recycling
aaaa Closed Loop Recycling is an initiative that was developed to deal with the increasing expense involved with the disposition of office waste paper and public records. Additionally, the private sector is obliged to participate because the purchase of paper products by the state is contingent upon the vendor's ability to provide a product manufactured with recycled materials and the vendor's guarantee to accept the states recyclable waste paper.
aaaa One of the goals was to minimize the amount of materials shipped to landfills, thus avoiding additional expense. In addition, the Agency of Natural Resources is interested in maximizing the life of landfills and opening fewer new landfills. Recycling was seen as a means to reduce waste stream.
aaaa Vermont decided to help create a market for recycled paper by requiring that its paper towels and tissue be manufactured from recycled paper and further that the vendor supplying these products be required to accept waste paper from the state. Joint efforts between the Department of Buildings and General Services divisions developed the closed loop contract requirement. BGS also worked with the Agency of Natural Resources to create an educational program and awareness among state employees, which has helped make this effort successful.
aaaa The program saves money from avoidance of tipping fees at the landfills and from revenue derived from the sale of the waste paper. These savings are greater than the additional expense incurred from the higher cost of purchased paper products manufactured from recycled materials and expenses involved with running the program such as containers and a bailer.
aaaa For more information contact A. John Yacavoni, Director of Public Records at 802-828-1000 or at john.yacavoni@state.vt.us or contact Peter Noyes , Director of Purchasing, at 802-828-2219 or at peter.noyes@state.vt.us.

Vermont - Development of Rest Exits & The Vermont "Oasis" Program
aaaa To address issues developing from a decaying system of rest areas and welcome centers, Vermont initiated a program to increase the number of information/hospitality centers across the state. One strategy to achieve this was to partner with private-sector businesses located at interstate interchanges to provide visitor services to the traveling public. This program sends visitors to these interchange-based businesses meeting a certain minimum criteria through state signage. Partnerships such as these give the traveler, more options such as food and gas in a much safer environment. Potentially "Oasis" sites would provide more rest stops between safe rest stops.
aaaa In 1998, the Vermont Information Center Division formed its first pilot partnership with a local business the P&H Truck Stop of Wells River to operate an "Oasis" rest area. The partnership was the first in the country to use an existing interchange-based business that met all of the minimum criteria required for an "Oasis" site to take some of the burden off the existing state rest area system.
aaaa Economically, the private-sector partnership saves the state hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in operating costs and staffing. The average cost of maintaining a rest area per year is $125,000 plus personal services contracts which are at approximately $75,000-$100,000 per year.
aaaa For more information, contact Dick Foster, Director, Vermont Information Center Division, at 802-828-3648 or at dfoster@dca.state.vt.us.

Washington - Energy Performance Contracting
aaaa The Department of General Administration's Energy Performance Contracting Program has been providing innovative energy solutions to Washington State agencies for more than 10 years. Performance contracting allows agencies to pay for capital improvements through operating savings. The Department of General Administration is now providing technical assistance to other states interested in implementing performance-contracting projects.
aaaa The program provides valuable financing, engineering and monitoring services to help agencies replace aging equipment and reduce operating costs. It allows agencies an innovative approach to improve infrastructure and operations.
aaaa Specific objectives of the program include: (1) providing facility managers with an alternative to the design/bid/build process; 2) using an innovative third-party financing mechanisms which alleviate the need for capital funding and which do not impact the facilities debt limit; 3) providing the facility manager with long-term savings and performance guarantees backed by clear and concise contracts; 4) reduction of facility maintenance costs and improvements in indoor air quality; 5) monitoring and verification of project success; and 6) on-going technical assistance to ensure the project performs to the satisfaction of the building owner and occupants.
aaaa The primary strategies have been used to ensure program goals and objectives are met: (1) Contractors, consultants and Energy Service Companies are selected based on qualifications - not the common "low-bid" approach; 2) the project is managed by a team, including significant participation by the facility staff in all phases; and 3) performance guarantees, commissioning, monitoring and verification, and long-term technical assistance ensure the project continues to perform throughout its life.
aaaa Forty Washington State agencies have taken advantage of this program and have installed $28 million in energy-efficient equipment. These projects are generating, annually, energy savings of $3.7 million and $11.8 million in utility incentives. The average simple payback of projects completed to date is 5.2.
aaaa For more information, contact Clint Lougheed, Energy Program Manager, Deparment of General Administration at 360-902-7262 or at cloughe@ga.wa.gov.