Arlington County is proud to be recognized as the No. 1 Digital County for 2023 by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties. This year's award marks the sixth time that Arlington has received the top spot in the nation for the 150,000-249,999-population category.  

The Digital Counties Survey Award provides an annual measure of technology performance and innovation through an in-depth review of the programs and plans of counties across the nation, recognizing best practices in the areas of open government, transparency, public engagement, strategic planning, shared services, cybersecurity and operations. Arlington County stood out for its efforts across the board, fueled by a renewed focus on exceptional customer service, strategic planning and collaboration, and a continued commitment to equity and technology innovation. 

"We are thrilled to receive this national award once again," aid Christian Dorsey, Arlington County Board Chair. "Years of investment and dedication to implementing technology solutions for the greater good are at the heart of this public recognition. Arlington’s world class services and programs depend on reliable, innovative technology-driven solutions and important security and privacy protections."

Arlington highlighted several areas of important work to earn this year’s award. Among them were the ongoing migration to an enterprise Cloud solution and the enhancement of essential government applications for faster, more efficient government services with increased security. This work included improving access to the enterprise financial and human resource system with a more secure and user-friendly single sign-on solution. The County also consolidated its remote access solutions for staff teleworking.  

Also earning praise was the refreshment of the Arlington Public Library app for its access to library collections, new account features, and timely information about programs and services.  The new app was downloaded by more than 50,000 users during the first two weeks of its launch and added 2,000 new users. Additionally, a renewed Digital Strategy prioritizing innovative customer-centric solutions and collaboration, and ongoing equity efforts that include the recent broadband study were recognized achievements. Looking ahead, the planned use of technology to support public safety practices earned praise along with other planned innovations for the Arlington community. 

Arlington County will receive the Digital Counties Survey Award on July 21st at the National Association of Counties Annual Conference & Exposition in Austin, Texas.