Rhode Island’s official state Web site, RI.gov, is riding high. The site now averages 282,819 visits per month – up more than 25 percent since 2007, according to internal figures. RI.gov offers more than 100 online services, as well as a vast array of information, all spread out across more than 600 Web pages.

The man in charge of Rhode Island’s Web presence is Tom Viall, a NIC employee who is RI.gov’s general manager. He talked with PBN recently about how RI.gov works, the site’s hidden features, and what’s in store for online government.

PBN: The Center for Digital Government recently ranked RI.gov as the fifth-best government Web site in the country. What do you think has made the site so successful compared with those in other states?

VIALL: The Center for Digital Government rewards depth and breadth of online services – ways that citizens and businesses can use the Internet to conduct government business online in a fast and efficient way. Over the past seven years we’ve continually developed new and innovative services and I believe reached a “critical mass” of services that demonstrate Rhode Island’s commitment to eGovernment.

Also, the state is really starting to utilize Web 2.0 functionality, such as Flickr, You Tube, Twitter, blogs, online video, RSS feeds and more to present government information to the widest audience possible. In our entry form for the Best of the Web we talked a lot about this transition from “Web portal” to information conduit, a broadcaster of information rather than just a content destination, and how we believed RI.gov was leading that change. People once relied on books, radio, periodicals and television for information – today state government needs to be where the people are, and that’s online.

PBN: How does site development work for a government Web site? How does it differ from regular site development?

VIALL: Often, an agency will approach us directly to discuss automating a paper process or responding to a newly legislated process. In other cases, we might hear of a service being offered in another state that is applicable in Rhode Island. Our parent company, NIC, operates portals in 20 other states, and we are constantly sharing ideas and success stories with colleagues at sister portals. We also get ideas directly from the business community and citizens, who are encouraged to utilize the RI.gov feedback page to contact us directly.

The R.I. Department of Administration manages our contract and we work very closely with the Division of Information Technology to review and prioritize all of these ideas, primarily during our monthly meetings with the state’s Portal Review Committee. The prioritization process is partially guided by our unique self-funded model. Because we are funded by enhanced access fees, rather than by time and materials, we must do a careful market analysis for each project to determine the true return on investment.

PBN: Everybody knows about the standard offerings on RI.gov, like legislation text or DMV hours. What features are available on RI.gov that people might not know about?

VIALL: Boaters can register vessels online, marinas can manage septic no-discharge decals and anglers can apply for freshwater fishing licenses. Business owners can submit corporations and UCC filings, pay business taxes, or submit their quarterly wage information to Taxation. URI students can select and purchase dining plans, or add dollars to their multi-use RAM cards. Motorists can reserve and order vanity plates.

In addition to our services, there is a tremendous amount of agency information available, including a stream of the most recent press releases from all agencies as part of our homepage RSS stream.

PBN: What improvements to RI.gov can we expect to see in the future?

VIALL: When it comes to the functionality of the Web portal, we think tagging may be our next big step. Tagging uses common words to describe and categorize related content. One of our directives is to de-silo the presentation of government information. A citizen or business simply wants to come to the site and accomplish a task. In the past we’ve traditionally categorized information on the portal in a hierarchical manner. This approach assumes that the user understands the logic of that hierarchy. Through the use of tagging we can group information together in a more organic way, creating a more successful user experience.

In the future, how important do you think the government’s Internet presence is going to be when it comes to effectively reaching and responding to citizens?

VIALL: I can’t stress enough the importance of Internet presence and communication. Like many states across the country, Rhode Island is faced with increasing demands and fewer resources to meet those demands. The Internet is the best way government can serve the public. It’s increasingly available, increasingly versatile – for example, the entire RI.gov is accessible from a cell phone, PDA, or screen reader – and it’s affordable.

The president of NIC has a saying that eGovernment once meant electronic government, but in these changing times it has really come to mean efficient government. I think our recent award is a clear indication that the state is succeeding in utilizing the Internet to create a more efficient Rhode Island.

RI.gov – the official Web site of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations – is a collaboration between the R.I. Department of Administration’s Division of Information Technology and Rhode Island Interactive, the local branch of Olathe, Kan.-based e-government firm NIC Inc. To learn more about the company, visit www.NICusa.com. For information about Rhode Island, visit www.RI.gov.