PulseNet Wins Innovations in
American Government Award
PulseNet, the Centers for Disease Control's foodborne illness detection system, was named one of 10 winners of the Innovations in American Government Awards last month. PulseNet standardized the way labs trace bacteria, and took the process a step further by digitizing the information so that it can be shared electronically, similar to a bar code. The program received a $100,000 award and recognition as one of the nation's best examples of government performance.

Defense Creates Online
Warehouse for Military Goods
With a few clicks of the mouse, government agencies and eligible non-profit groups can quickly locate surplus items from Defense that meet their needs, and some users can electronically place an order. As a result, more than $5 billion in excess and surplus property is being reused, transferred or donated to customers who might otherwise have purchased new items. This Hammer Award-winning web-based distribution system was a finalist in the 1999 Innovations in American Government Awards competition and took home $20,000.

USDA Opens Doors to
Regulatory Hearings Via the Internet
The Agricultural Marketing Service's Internet Rulemaking for Organic Food Standards program used the Internet to eliminate the voluminous paperwork, procedure, and distance that shut most citizens out of regulatory rulemaking. The agency made the entire process available on its website. A "virtual reading room" replaced thousands of pages of reference materials and reams of public meeting transcripts and comments. The online process reaped a record-breaking 275,000 comments on a proposed rule. The program received $20,000 as a finalist in the 1999 Innovations in American Government Awards.

Innovators - Apply for $100,000 Award
Government reinventors, your innovative projects may be worthy of next year's crop of Innovations in American Government Awards -- and big-time cash prizes of $100,000! The deadline is Monday, January 10, 2000 for paper applications and Monday, January 17, 2000, for electronically submitted applications. See the rules and the previous winners.