On Monday, City of El Paso officials shared that EP Strong website was named the Overall Winner of the Future Ready Award by the Center for Digital Government a national research and advisory institute focused on information technology policy and best practices in state and local government.
“Earning this nationwide top honor demonstrates our commitment to providing the best to our community when it matters the most,” said City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. “What it also shows is the sophistication of our resilience. El Paso is the only city of the top 100 Rockefeller cities that integrated its resiliency plan into our citywide strategic plan and it’s paying off for us. Other cities are taking notice and asking how to do the same.”
According to the city, the Information Technology team partnered with our Strategic Communications team, Public Health Department, Office of Emergency Management and community partners to develop a “comprehensive website that includes a local dashboard with daily COVID-19 data and essential information for our health and emergency leaders, as well as our policy makers, school leaders, and residents.”
“I am proud the City has been nationally recognized for the information provided on our website,” said Mayor Dee Margo. “As we continue to persevere through this pandemic, EPStrong.org has become a vital resource to the community.”
The Overall Future Ready Award, which is sponsored by Google Cloud, is presented to jurisdictions whose initiatives are paving the way toward new public-sector innovations in an uncertain world.
On August 3, 2019, after the tragic shooting at Walmart that took 23 lives and devastated our community, the City quickly built the EPStrong.org website to provide information to the community, media and local partners.
In early March 2020 when the pandemic struck, the website that was created to address emergencies was updated with COVID-19-related information and has been instrumental in providing continuous updates on data, events, and health and safety guidance.
Additionally, the City earned 2nd place for the National Government Experience Award, which recognizes municipalities that are laying the foundation for the disruptive and converging forces that are shaping an uncertain future—through technology or process changes; innovation; engagement with partners; and by harnessing emerging technologies to solve problems.
Officials share that the two awards recognize how it’s more important than ever to bring vital services to communities with innovative digital tools.
“The awards acknowledge achievements and best practices of states, cities and counties that are radically improving the experience of government services and pushing the boundaries of how citizen services are delivered,” city officials added
For a complete list of award winners visit the Government Experience Awards website.
