ARLINGTON, Virginia (September 21, 2006) – Development InfoStructure (Devis), a leading provider of information technology for eGovernment, today announced that the DNA.gov Web site – implemented by Devis for the Department of Justice (DOJ) – was selected as a "Best Federal Web Site" at the 2006 Web Managers Best Practice Awards. The awards were announced September 19 at the Fall Government Web Managers Workshop held in Washington, D.C.
The President's DNA Initiative provides funding, training and assistance to ensure that forensic DNA reaches its full potential to solve crimes, protect the innocent and identify missing persons. Managed by the DOJ's National Institute of Justice (NIJ), DNA.gov presents a unified, cross-government resource for the Initiative. Devis and NIJ designed the DNA.gov Web site, and Department of Justice staff members manage and provide the content. The site features a main content site, several online learning courses to teach law enforcement officials and officers of the court how to handle and use DNA evidence, and an extensive new report on identifying victims of mass fatalities using DNA technology.
The Web Content Managers Forum is a peer group comprised of more than 900 federal, state and local government Web managers. The Web Managers Advisory Council established the "best practice peer awards" to showcase innovative and successful Web practices that can be replicated across government. This year, a panel of federal Web managers named DNA.gov a finalist in the "Specialized Audience" category. The decision criteria included evaluation of best practices in content and interactivity, design/usability and accessibility, and usage evaluation metrics.
"Devis is very proud to have the DNA.gov site recognized as a Best Federal Web Site," said Devis President Peter Gallagher. "The award validates Devis's e-government expertise and content management technology; but, more importantly, it acknowledges the NIJ's leadership in organizing vital forensic information within an optimized online environment. Our partnership with NIJ is a great one, and we're honored by this week's award."
The DNA.gov Web site runs on the EZRO Web content management software developed by Devis. EZRO is open source, zero licensing cost software that has been used to run hundreds of government Web sites. EZRO was a perfect fit for DNA.gov because it allows subject experts to easily create, manage and reuse content. The secure site administration interface enables multiple experts to author and manage both informational and training content, which saves valuable time by eliminating the need for any HTML coding.
This is Devis's second award from the Federal Web Content Managers. In 2005, the Devis-developed portal, DisabilityInfo.gov, won a "Best Federal Web Site" award in the "Citizen-focused Online Services" category. (See Devis Press Release.)
About Development InfoStructure (Devis)
Development InfoStructure (Devis) was founded in 1992 to provide innovative, practical approaches to information management. Devis is a leading provider of IT Consulting services and solutions to Federal, State, and Local Governments as well as the international development community. Devis' standards-based, vendor-independent approach and active support of the open source community help maximize the return on clients' IT investments.
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Contact: Greta Menard
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Email: gmenard@conceptspr.com
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