 State of Arizona implements sitemaps and significantly expands citizen access to public information
In less than 50 technical staff hours, Arizona's Government Information Technology Agency made hundreds of thousands of public records and other webpages "crawlable" to search engines and visible in Google search results.
About the State of Arizona
At a time when more and more people are searching for government information online, the State of Arizona is pursuing an aggressive strategy to ensure that all of its online resources are easily accessible to the public. The Government Information Technology Agency (GITA), the strategic oversight organization that leads Arizona's efforts to use technology to better serve its citizens, has been recognized for its record of innovation. In addition to spearheading the development of websites including Arizona 2-1-1 Online, GITA runs Arizona’s award-winning state portal, Arizona @ Your Service, which enables visitors to search the information in all of Arizona’s government websites.
Challenge
"As a result of the State's partnership with Google, consumers can access more than a hundred thousand licensing and development records in our public database simply by using a search engine."
Sam Wercinski, Commissioner
Arizona Department of Real Estate
Arizona’s vision for information technology is based on the use of technology as a tool to improve processes, share information, and deliver the highest quality services to citizens.
"People are getting better and better at using the Internet, and it is propelling government to provide more timely information and better online services," says Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. "Government websites used to be organized in terms of the functions of the bureaucracy. We're now looking to organize information in terms of how people use the Web to get services.
In some cases, Arizona's state agency websites were designed in such a way that the databases they contain were not visible to people who use web search services like Google. This meant that only people looking at particular sites were likely to discover and access them.
As the organization that shapes technology strategy for Arizona, the Government Information Technology Agency sought to change that. GITA’s core mission is increasing government efficiency and ensuring that people have easy access to public information and services -- especially information that can help them make important decisions about issues like their education, employment, housing, and health. According to State CIO Chris Cummiskey, this entails making smart, cost-effective technology choices that meet the needs and expectations of today’s web-savvy constituents.
"The State has a rich tradition of making important information available to the public," explains Cummiskey. "However, certain information is buried within individual agency websites that cannot be directly accessed through commercial search engines such as Google."
Solution
"[The Google] partnership has been a tremendous success for the State. It's a very cost-effective way to increase citizen access to government."
Chris Cummiskey, CIO
State of Arizona
Early in 2007, GITA undertook a partnership with Google to make it easier for citizens using search engines to access the information and services that Arizona provides. At the heart of the partnership is implementing the Sitemap Protocol, an open technical standard that's widely supported in the search engine industry. The technology provides a mechanism that allows website owners to systematically communicate a list, or "map," of all the pages in a website to search engines. This ensures that search engines can "crawl" parts of a website that would otherwise be invisible, including records in databases.
With help from Google's Public Sector Content Partnerships team, Arizona has made the information in many of its largest public databases visible to people using search engines. The result, says Cummiskey, is that more citizens are finding and using consumer resources at the Arizona Department of Real Estate, the Registrar of Contractors, and other State agencies. "This is government information that people can trust, that they know is credible and can help them make better choices in their daily lives," he says.
Fidelis V. Garcia, Director of the State Registrar of Contractors, believes that implementing Sitemaps has helped Arizona citizens significantly in obtaining good, reliable information from the agency.
"When someone uses an unlicensed contractor, they risk a work product that fails to meet Arizona’s minimum contracting standards. In a worst-case scenario, an unscrupulous contractor can endanger citizens’ safety, health, and welfare," explains Garcia.
"Because of the inherent risks in contracting, it is vital for people to have access to current and reliable information about a contractor's license status and record," he continues. "Due to the Google partnership, people now have easy access to the timely information they need to make an informed decision about whom to hire. All they need to do is perform a simple Internet search, and a contractor’s license and ROC record will appear."
A leading consumer-oriented agency, the Arizona Department of Real Estate is also serving its customers more effectively due to implementing the Sitemap Protocol. "We interact with the public, the industry, and community leaders to increase consumer protection and enhance professionalism within the real estate industry," explains Sam Wercinski, Commissioner. "As a result of the State’s partnership with Google, consumers can access more than a hundred thousand licensing and development records in our public database simply by using a search engine. This furthers our mission of protecting the public through education and making our information more accessible."
According to Cummiskey, the State of Arizona works hard to ensure that the public gets the maximum benefit from technology investments to improve access to public information. "We always weigh the cost and benefits of each of our projects, and in that respect, this partnership has been a tremendous success for the State. It's a very cost-effective way to increase citizen access to government."
"Government technology managers understand the importance of search," says JL Needham, Manager of Public Sector Content Partnerships at Google. "Most government websites operate an effective 'site search' tool, which ensures that citizens can navigate an agency's website once they arrive there. But there is comparatively little investment in the public sector in web search -- ensuring that all of an agency's information and services can be found through a Google search. Arizona citizens now benefit from a government that is striking this balance."
State officials are very pleased with the results of the Google partnership so far. According to Lisa Meyerson, Strategic Initiatives Unit Chief for GITA and coordinator of the Arizona-Google partnership, it took less than 50 hours of staff time to implement Sitemaps in eight major databases. Plans for phase two of the partnership include implementing the protocol for many other agency websites and databases. "This partnership has exceeded our expectations," says Meyerson. "We were surprised at how quick and easy it was to implement Sitemaps. Sitemaps are easy to create, and easy to maintain."
About Sitemaps
Sitemaps are a way to inform search engines about all of the pages in a website that are available for "crawling," including records in databases. The Sitemap Protocol is an open technical standard that was developed by Google and is widely supported in the search engine industry. It provides a mechanism for producing a list of all pages on a website and automatically communicating this "Sitemap" to search engines. The protocol helps make web pages visible to people using search engines, but does not influence the way they are ranked or indexed.
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