So
you've heard about HUD's "award-winning web sites" and HUD's "award-winning
kiosks"…just what ARE those awards? Read on!
HUD's Homes and Communities Web Site
What is it? HUD's web site is a clearinghouse of information
and services about homes and communities, organized in ways that
are meaningful to citizens and to HUD's current and future business
partners. It goes way beyond HUD's boundaries, offering links to
information and services from other federal agencies, HUD partners,
and more. More than 600,000 individuals visit HUD's web site every
month. About 25% stop by more than once. 75% of HUD's web site visitors
are private citizens, and most of them are looking for information
on how to buy a home.
Awards and Recognition
2004
- July 2004: LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) presents HUD with its "Pioneer Award" for creating espanol.hud.gov.
2001
- Ranked
4th by Brown University: Brown University ranked HUD's Homes
and Communities Site ranked 4th of 58 federal web sites reviewed
in its annual E-Gov Report, issued September 2001. The
review evaluated the level of services that federal and state
agencies offer via the web, finding that HUD's site is among the
best!
Read
more
- Clips:
- Kelsey
Stuart cited HUD's web site as an example of "customer-centric
service" in his article, "The Big Switch to Customer Service,"
in the E-Gov 2001 Preview Journal (May 2001). HUD's
"At Your Service" section is spotlighted under the heading:
"Now That's Customer-Centric!"
- National
Journal (December 8) cited HUD's web page among recommended
housing web sites. "Going to the Housing and Urban Development
Department's Web site is like opening a triple-decker box
of crayons-it's surprisingly aesthetic, and full of more choices
than one person could ever hope to use…Take advantage of the
"Information for" option on the home page: HUD does an excellent
job of indexing its overwhelming Web site for easy use by
24 different user groups."
2000
- E-Citizen
Services Award: HUD was very proud to receive the first "E-Citizen
Services Award" for federal agencies, presented by the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and Accenture (July 2000). This award,
now called the "Digital Government Award," recognizes web
sites that are most innovative in using the web to serve citizens.
MIT professor Dan Greenwood said of HUD's site: "they really knew
why people are going to their site and designed it for them."
Read
more
- USA
Today Hot Site: HUD's "homebuyers kit" is a permanent
fixture among USA Today's collection of "useful sites." The call
it, "a comprehensive package from the folks at the Dept. of Housing
and Urban Development."
- Clips:
- The
Public Strategies Group praised HUD's web site as, "A pioneer
among federal agencies in how to put useful information in
the hands of customers and stakeholders," in their Fall, 2000
review of HUD.
Read
more
- HUD's
web site was among "10 Sites to Watch:10 unheralded but
innovative web sites that pave the way to digital government,"
the cover article of Federal Computer Week, April 24,
2000.
Read
more
- Jeff
Bolletino, Vice President at Booz-Allen & Hamilton focused
on HUD's online chat rooms as an example of ways that government
agencies can use the web to "listen" to their audiences, in
his column in the E-Gov Journal. (May 2000)
1999
- Hammer
Award:HUD received a Hammer Award, presented by the National
Partnership for Reinventing Government, for developing webcasting
as a means for improving service to the public.
- Clips:
- In
its August 1999 report on "Governments Using Technology
to Serve the Citizen," the Intergovernmental Advisory
Board and GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy, called
HUD's web site, "wonderful...an excellent example of how to
exploit the web to serve citizens."
Read
more
- "Kids
Next Door," the section of HUD's web site designed to help
teach children ages 5-12 to become good citizens, was recognized
by TeacherNet (sponsored by Highlights for Children
magazine).
1998
- Best
Feds on the Web: For the second year in a row, HUD's web site
was named one of the 15 "Best Feds on the Web" by Government
Executive Magazine. Sites were selected for providing excellent
customer service, using the web to improve business, and making
use of new technologies.
Read
more
- Dow
Jones "Select Site:" The Dow Jones Directory picked HUD's
web page as a "select site" for its business opportunities. (4/2/98)
- Clips:
- In
its May 1998 cover story, "The Wonder Years," Government
Executive Magazine calls HUD's site one of the "leaders
of the pack." Gary Bass, of OMB Watch, says that HUD's web
site is "one of the federal government's web trailblazers…it's
one of the most innovative sites around."
Read
more
1997
- Best
Feds on the Web: HUD's web site was named one of the 10 "Best
Feds on the Web" by Government Executive Magazine,
in its first review of federal web sites.
Read
more
- Snap
Online "Best of the Web:" Snap Online, a directory of web
sites, picked HUD's site as "best of the web" in its "communities"
category (10/31/97).
1996
- Yahoo
and USA Today Hot Site: On May 14, 1996, HUD's web site received
its first award when it was selected as one of Yahoo's "Picks
of the Day." Yahoo is the world's largest directory of web sites.
USA Today named HUD's site a "Hot Site" on May 15, 1996.
Both Yahoo and USA Today typically pick three to five sites
each day to highlight out of the hundreds of thousands of sites
to choose from on the web.
HUD's Intranet (Hud@work)
What is it? Virtually every employee uses hud@work
every day to find out what's going on in the Department, to get
information and services about their jobs, and to access online
systems they need to do their work.
Awards and Recognition
- Top
50 Intranets: HUD's intranet was cited by CIO Magazine
as one of the top 50 intranets in the country in 1997 and
1998.
Read
more
- Clips:
- HUD's
intranet was featured in a Government Computer News article:
"Intranets link far-flung offices, hike productivity."
Read
more
- Washington
Technology Online showcased HUD as an example of progressive
use of federal Intranets.
Read
more
HUD's Kiosks
What
are they?
110 touch-screen kiosks are located in public places throughout the
country, offering basic information about HUD programs and services.
HUD's kiosks are aimed at bringing HUD to citizens and making HUD's
services available to those who might not seek them. An average of
25,000 people use the kiosks each month to find homes for sale, search
for subsidized apartments, and learn about FHA mortgage programs.
Then they can print any page they want and take it with them. Interviews
with kiosk users reveal that more than 50% expect to use the information
they found.
Awards and Recognition
- Excellence
in Government Award:HUD's kiosks received one of 5 Excellence
in Government Awards in February 2001.
- "2000
Award:" The Center for Excellence in Information Technology
presented HUD's kiosks with their "2000 Award".
- Innovations
in American Government Semi-Finalist: HUD's kiosk project
was a Semi-finalist for Harvard's 2000 Innovation In American
Government Awards
- Pioneer
Award: In 1999, HUD's kiosks received the E-Gov "Pioneer
Award."
- Hammer
Award: The National Partnership for Reinventing Government
honored the kiosks with the Hammer Award in May 1998
- Clips:
- The
kiosks were featured in the New York Times article,
"Emergency Housing In A Hurry," Nov. 5, 1998
Read
more
Web Clinics for HUD Partners
What
are they? HUD's
Web Team is traveling the country, conducting Web Clinics for HUD
Partners - grantees, nonprofits, faith-based groups, PHAs, state and
local governments, and other community organizations - teaching them
how to create web sites that deliver the services HUD funds. These
clinics arm our partners with a step-by-step process for writing their
web sites and loads of information about how they can get all the
technical support they need, for free. The new Web Clinic Wizard software,
developed as a companion to the Clinics and distributed to participants
for free, enables them to create simple web sites in minutes.
Awards and Recognition
- Trailblazer
Award: HUD's Web Clinics received the E-Government Trailblazer
Award in July 2001
- Clips:
- The
web clinics were featured in an article on Inman.Com's
"Real Estate News" in August 2000
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