GOVERNMENT

Austin is considering reducing its use of Microsoft to save money. The city is paying more than $3 million under a licensing agreement signed two years ago and faces a $30 million budget shortfall, Collins said.

"We have essentially given Iowans a window into state government that will allow them to be more engaged and involved and help them better understand how decisions are made and how their government is working," said Vilsack. "Every person in this state now has access to the very same information that policy-makers and the Lt. Governor and I have when we make important decisions about the state’s priorities and its future."

Advocacy’s New Web Page Offers A One-Stop For Proposed Legislation, Current
State Laws, Statistics, And Information

"In some locations, where they’ve got Internet access, the advocates will be entering the petition information on computer, so that when somebody sits down at a safe house and is working with an advocate, they can go in and enter all the vital information," Gladden said.

"In a setting like South Dakota, blessed with a great deal of open space, people need to retrieve information about the legislative process from where they are and not have to trek to the Capitol," Fry said. "This site is about openness and access and it has come to serve a variety of constituencies very well."

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston have launched a virtual community for state and municipal CIOs and IT professionals to discuss common issues and exchange information. The partnership, announced October 15 at…

A recent study released by Deloitte Research http://www.dc.com/Insights/Research/Public/citizenadvantage_landing.asp offers a new approach for evaluating the return on investment (ROI) of government technology investments. According to the study, public-sector organizations should evaluate information technology (IT) investments,…