Best government IT programs honored

There’s a program to streamline the whitewater rafting permit application process; an app for travelers to get information about airports, weather patterns and alternate flight routes; and a project that provides service members and veterans with information on traumatic brain injury via social media.

The America Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council honored seven of the most innovative federal IT programs during the ninth annual Excellence.Gov Awards luncheon on March 16 in Washington, D.C.

Of 100 programs under consideration, judges chose the following winners in seven categories:

• Excellence in Enhancing the Customer Experience — Electronic Permitting/Remote Wireless Project in the Four Rivers Recreation Area of the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho.
• Excellence and Innovation in the Use of Social Media — Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury's Social Media Program.
• Excellence in Intergovernmental Collaboration — All Partners Access Network, an online community outside the military firewall.
• Excellence in Improving the Operations of Government — Direct Express Debit Mastercard for Recurring Benefit Payments.
• Excellence in Improving the Workforce — Defense Department Business Transformation Agency's Case Adjudication Tracking System.
• Excellence in Going Green — Green IT Initiative by the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs.
• Best Mobile App (new category for 2011) — MyTSA one-touch dashboard display for travelers.