Colorado Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Justice Website Honored with Award

The Colorado Department of Public Safety Division of Criminal Justice’s website received a 2017 Horizon Interactive Award in the government agency website category. Improving the safety of the community, the quality of services to crime victims and the effectiveness of services for offenders are hallmarks of the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice’s (DCJ) mission. Housed within the Colorado Department of Public Safety, DCJ is ensuring these hallmarks translate into the citizen’s online experience. Not only does user feedback indicate the Division is on the right track, but so does feedback from the interactive media industry.

The Horizon Interactive Awards (HIA) are among the most prestigious awards in the field of interactive and creative media. They recognize the best web sites, web site design, interactive, videos, online advertising, print media and mobile applications.

“We shifted the site’s focus from talking about the Division of Criminal Justice to meeting its users’ needs,” said Colorado Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Patricia Billinger. “The new site aims to get people to the information and resources they need as quickly and intuitively as possible. We went to great lengths to obtain user feedback before the project and after building the initial navigation. We really wanted to re-organize content from the user’s perspective. The result is a website with a logical, easy flow for our heaviest users — program managers, grantees and criminal justice professionals.”

Some additional ways the Division’s strategy reflects best practices in website management include: meeting accessibility standards for users with disabilities and impairments; making the site more user-friendly for mobile devices; and implementing a consistent navigational and branding experience across all units within the DCJ.

“We admire the Department of Public Safety’s initiative in following best website management practices, especially its determination in engaging users throughout the process,” said Colorado Interactive (CI) President and General Manager, Fred Sargeson. “We’re proud their efforts were recognized with a Horizon Interactive Award.”

The 2017 competition attracted entries from across the United States and more than 16 countries. A volunteer panel of industry professionals reviewed over 1,000 entries and awarded the DCJ’s website for its outstanding achievement in interactive media production.

The Department of Public Safety turned to Colorado Interactive (CI) and the Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA) to produce its new website. CI provides digital government services to state agencies, local governments and educational entities through a contract with SIPA — the official internet portal connecting the public with Colorado government. The partnership’s mission allows government leaders to focus on delivering on-demand, digital government solutions without requests for proposals or the use of tax appropriations. The CI/SIPA partnership has benefited more than 40 state-department programs.

About Colorado Interactive

Colorado Interactive (CI) is the team behind the official website of the state of Colorado (http://www.colorado.gov) and is overseen by the Statewide Internet Portal Authority. The portal operates through a public-private partnership between the state and CI to help Colorado government entities web-enable their services. CI builds, operates, maintains, and markets Colorado.gov and is part of the digital government firm, NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV).

About SIPA

Established in 2004 by the Colorado General Assembly, the Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA) is a self-funded government organization created to be Colorado's single most comprehensive delivery channel for electronic government (eGovernment) services. SIPA strives to accelerate the adoption of efficient and effective eGovernment services by placing more online to benefit Colorado residents. In addition to no-cost websites, payment processing and event registration setup, SIPA provides SaaS technology solutions, consulting and cyber security assessments. Please visit www.colorado.gov/sipa.

About NIC

NIC Inc. (Nasdaq: EGOV) is the nation’s premier provider of innovative digital government solutions and secure payment processing, which help make government interactions more accessible for everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies has developed a library of more than 13,000 digital government services for more than 6,000 federal, state, and local government agencies. Among these solutions is the ground-breaking personal assistant for government, Gov2Go, delivering citizens personalized reminders and a single platform for all government interactions. More information is available at www.egov.com.

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