Volume 2, Issue 2

New Sites

Appraisers Board
License Renewals
www.accessarkansas.org/alcb/

Game and Fish Commission
Deer, Turkey and Elk Permits
and Online Game Check
www.agfc.com/

Public Employees
Retirement System
www.apers.org

ESD Unemployment
Insurance Tax Filings
www.accessarkansas.org/esd

Forestry Commission
Seedling Sales
www.forestry.state.ar.us/

Towing & Recovery Board
www.artowing.org/


New Department of
Education Site
arkedu.state.ar.us/

New Martin Luther King
Commission Site www.accessarkansas.org/mlk


Department of Labor Site &
Electrician License Renewals
www.accessarkansas.org/labor

New Economic
Development Site
www.1800arkansas.com

by Gina Martin, Director of
eGovernment Relations

Let's face it, eGovernment isn't
the kind of juicy topic made for
TV. But there is something
about the information on accessArkansas.org that has certainly caught the attention of TV stations across the state. It's been a little more than four months since I took the new position as Director of eGovernment Relations for INA. In that time we have not only become a regular presence on ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates across the state, but our "accessArkansas" website is also being occasionally quoted from those same TV personalities who remember the site without our help, thus becoming a "newsroom name" as much as a household name.

Take for instance KAIT in Jonesboro. This #1 rated ABC affiliate in the area had so much viewer response from one of our 5 o-clock news segments on the state surplus auction, they offered a link to accessArkansas.org from their own station website.

Upon our second return for a segment at KHBS in Fort Smith, station managers purchased a laptop computer for the anchor desk, realizing our segments about eGovernment were the first of many internet topics yet to come.

In Little Rock on KTHV This Morning, our eGovernment segments have been popular with both viewers and fellow newsroom employees. We had been doing segments only in the morning, but I recently got a call to do the same eGov segments for another show at noon.

The topics are plentiful. The information is pertinent. Among the sites already promoted are the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission site, the AS-IS School Information site, Pave the Way Construction site, and the ever-popular Streamline Auto Renewal site.

Arkansas Ranks High in New Report
by Robert Chandler, General Manager, INA

Researchers at the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University ranked Arkansas 19th this year, out of 1,651 state government websites evaluated. Among the sites analyzed were portal or gateway sites, as well as those developed by court offices, legislatures, statewide officials, major departments, and state and federal agencies serving crucial functions of government.

The Center ranked the websites based on information and availability, quality of citizen access, website responsiveness, privacy and security policies, and availability of online material. The study's researchers concluded that government websites are most successful when they integrate extensive use of interactive services, employ consistent design and navigation principles, and provide search engines and citizen feedback functions to create "one-stop" eGovernment service portals.

In the past few years, INA has worked with some of the major agencies in Arkansas to revamp or enhance their web sites including DFA, Health, Education, State Police, Correction, Forestry, Plant Board, Nursing, Secretary of State, Courts, Treasury, Auditor, Senate, House of Representatives and Insurance to name a few. We are currently working on redesigns for the Governor, Game and Fish, Labor, Human Services, and several other boards and commissions. Also, for introduction early next year we are planning for a redesign of the accessArkansas.org site in efforts to better integrate accessibility, interactive services, consistent design and personalization.

Darrell M. West, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University, referenced Arkansas as one of the states placing a high priority on improving online services to satisfy the demands of constituents. "It was surprising and encouraging to see how rapidly the eGovernment landscape is changing and how much an individual state or agency can improve in a relatively short time span. In the space of a year, states like Indiana, Tennessee, Maine, Arkansas, and Montana have risen past 20 or more other states in terms of the quality and variety of online services they provide. The bar is constantly moving higher." Last year Arkansas ranked 39th in the report.

INA is proud to be part of the State of Arkansas's commitment to eGovernment. Arkansas' progress in this study represents the effort of many progressive thinking agencies and directors within the state. With all the projects, commitments and the leadership in place we anticipate that this trend will continue. The entire report is available online at www.brown.edu/ Departments/ TaubmanCenter.

State Surplus Online!
by Pat Ulrich, Director of Content, INA

This new service allows not only Arkansans, but the rest of the nation, the opportunity to browse available state surplus, bid on items of interest and be notified electronically of a winning bids. Using the same principles as other successful government and public auction sites, such as eBay, customers also have the ability to track the bidding and pay for items with a credit card or electronic check. And, by using a personalized "My Auction" page, users can set up profiles and be notified when certain items become available for bidding. What could be easier?

Arkansas State agencies and tax supported entities, such as county/city governments and volunteer fire departments, can utilize a secure "Surplus Store" within the site to browse items and make purchases using an electronic check or credit card. Purchases may then be shipped directly to the customer or picked up from the M&R warehouse.

The site was developed by a partnership between the Marketing and Redistribution Division of the Office and State Procurement, Department of Finance and Administration and the Information Network of Arkansas. Visit www.arstatesurplus.com and let the bidding begin!

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) recently facilitated the development of an architectural framework that can help state agencies comply with Act 1227 of 1999. Act 1227 mandates that state government purchase and use technology in a way that is adaptable for use by the visually impaired. Part of OIT's responsibility is to create a shared technical architecture, which serves as a guide for state agencies to follow in the deployment of technology throughout Arkansas state government. Working groups of state agency employees research and agree on the best ways to use technology to achieve its maximum benefit.

A working group was formed of sighted and visually impaired people from state government, higher education, public education, and the Information Network of Arkansas. Three smaller working groups broke off to concentrate on specific technology areas, namely hardware, application development and web development. Visually impaired individuals led two of the three working groups. Over the course of the summer of 2001, these groups agreed upon standards and best practices that defined the accessibility architecture. The standards are the minimum requirements agencies must follow to conform to the architecture. To see these standards and best practices, visit the accessibility architecture home page at http://www.oit.state.ar.us/ Arch/Domains/1227/default.asp. Complying with Act 1227 isn't as simple as choosing from a list of software and hardware. The applications and web pages have to be designed in ways that are accessible. If an agency takes accessibility into consideration during the design phase of a project, accessibility can be achieved with little or no problem.

The Technology Investigation Center within OIT is a resource that many state agencies have used to determine if their websites and applications are accessible. In the Technology Investigation Center lab, screen readers and other assistive technologies can show agencies how a visually impaired person might perceive their website or application. For more information on using the Technology Investigation Center, contact Mary Henthorn by calling (501) 682-4307 or email her at mary.henthorn@mail.state.ar.us. The Technology Investigation Center's website address for accessibility issues is http://www.oit.state.ar.us/TIC/Spec Topics/SEA/default.asp.