Arlington Wins National and State Recognition for Technology
Published on September 26, 2024
Arlington County earned top honors this month at the national and state level for its efforts to enhance government services and provide a better user experience through technology.
Arlington was named the No. 1 County Overall in the nation by the Center for Digital Government for its 2024 Government Experience Award. Arlington also won the 2024 Commonwealth Technology Award from the Virginia IT Agency in the Innovative Use of Technology category for its Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) Document Search project launched earlier this year.
"We are delighted to be recognized for our strides in technology innovation, not only among our peers in Virginia but also on the national stage," said Arlington County Chair Libby Garvey. “During my time with the County, technology has truly transformed the way we do business, bringing new efficiencies to government, greater transparency and stronger connections with our Arlington community. These awards are a testament to the hard work and progress that we’ve made and to our strategic planning and vision for future advancements through technology."
Both awards highlight the County’s longstanding commitment to finding new ways to better connect with and support its community using technology, and ensuring an open, accessible government for all.
2024 Government Experience Overall 1st Place Award
Arlington was named first in the nation overall among all cities and counties by the Center for Digital Government for its 2024 Government Experience Awards. The annual award puts a spotlight on governments that have expanded their efforts beyond traditional website communications and use technology to better engage with residents. Arlington received the award following a comprehensive assessment of its work in the areas of accessibility, customer experience, an omni or cross-platform approach that allows users to perform actions seamlessly on different platforms, data integration, innovation and the impact on users.
The County’s Department of Technology stood out for its strategic planning, best practices and innovative approach to using technology to better engage with the Arlington community. Among the achievements highlighted were expanded constituent interactions through the County’s AI chatbots, enhanced digital accessibility through improved ADA compliance, and the successful implementation of the first customer relationship manager tool to organize, streamline and expedite constituent outreach activities. Also noted was Arlington’s introduction of an enterprise payment solution that provides a single place for several of the County’s services to collect payments. It is a reliable and secure customer experience that supports all major electronic payment methods.
As the overall winner, Arlington is set to participate in the Virtual GovX Summit and Government Experience Awards being held on Sept. 26.
2024 Commonwealth Technology Award
Arlington is proud to announce that it is one of only 13 jurisdictions in Virginia to win a 2024 Commonwealth Technology Award from the Virginia IT agency. The Commonwealth Technology awards recognize state and local agencies for successful IT projects that improve government services and efficiency. The Department of Technology Services Digital Innovation and Cloud Team received the award in the Innovative Use of Technology category for its AI/ML Assisted Document Search project.
Arlington introduced the new document search feature earlier this year, enabling a centralized document repository with generative AI search technology. The initial focus in this effort allowed users to use the power of AI to search County Board meeting minutes dating back to the year 1932. Real Estate House Cards and all County Code information was also added to the search function during this initial phase. The County added Requests for Proposals, contracts and public meeting minute documents to the AI-enabled search. Arlington plans to add other key document types to the search tool in future phases as part of its Open Government policy of transparency and easy access to information.
Visit the Technology Services website to learn more about technology in Arlington County Government.