The State of California has a proud history of innovation and is constantly improving how it gets information to the public.  In August, the State of California won third place in the nation in the Center for Digital Government’s "Best of the Web" competition. The Center for Digital Government ranks all fifty states' web sites based on the following categories: innovation, functionality and economy and efficiency.

“This important recognition” California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says, “shows that we are leading the way in providing access to government information and services in convenient new ways—saving Californians from extra travel costs and helping the environment.”

One “convenient new way” California’s web users are accessing their government’s information is by clicking on California’s Best Practices Wiki, a joint-agency project for which the California State Library played an integral role. On the state’s wiki, people who work in state agencies share “best practices,” their successful work processes, systems, tools, and even experiments. State agencies used to exchange success stories randomly.  Now, via the Best Practices wiki, they can collaborate more effectively.

A small project team from the State and Consumer Services Agency, State Personnel Board, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of General Services, Office of eServices and the California State Library developed the collaborative 2.0 web tool for housing agency entries.

Since the wiki launched in April, state employees have been praising the site. One state webmaster raves [the wiki] is “bound to be a frequent destination for state webmasters.” A Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) customer service coordinator says, “If [the wiki] gets as huge as I envision, it will be easier to locate information since each department has its own language…” And a manager at the Department of Fish and Game exudes, “A wiki from the State of California agency - who would have thought? This is fantastic!”

The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. For more than a decade, the Center has used the annual Best of the Web competition to recognize and celebrate state web portals that provide innovative solutions by communicating well with constituents and businesses.

For more information about the California Best Practices Wiki, please contact Kris Ogilvie, the California State Library at (916) 651-6800 or email kogilvie@library.ca.gov.