Improving Services

Postal Service

oing on vacation? You've turned off the coffee pot and put the mail on hold, right? Uh-oh, forgot the mail? Fear not, plug in your laptop, log onto the Postal Service's Web site and take care of that detail without missing a minute of beach time.

The agency's Web site-www.USPS.com-helps customers access postal services and products and ensures that the agency keeps pace with its private sector competitors.

In 2002, the Postal Service registered more than 156 million visitors and conducted 15.6 million paid transactions. Among other things, customers can put a hold on their mail or change their address, both of which are free services, but once required filling out a paper form and mailing it to the local post office. Customers also can order a pickup of Express, Guaranteed or Priority mail from their homes. And the Web site lets consumers and businesses print and pay for mailing labels from their computers.

-Matthew Weinstock

WHY IT WON

Created a one-stop shop to change mail delivery, pay for shipping and obtain other postal services.

WHY IT'S INNOVATIVE

Allows the agency to generate new business opportunities at a low cost.

WHAT DIFFERENCE IT HAS MADE

Improved the ability of consumers and businesses to interact with the Postal Service.

District of Columbia

tarting a new business or nonprofit is never easy. But for years, aspiring entrepreneurs and advocates in the nation's capital faced another obstacle: the District of Columbia's labyrinthine bureaucracy. To start a nonprofit, for example, people once had to deal with 44 different D.C. agencies. "It was really overwhelming to people," says Victor Grimes, the city's director of e-government services.

So three years ago, Grimes and his colleagues developed the online Business Resource Center, a Web site with all the forms and contacts needed to get started. The site also has information for longtime business owners, ranging from contracting opportunities to financing strategies.

The Business Resource Center generates savings, too-the district has saved almost

$1 million in administrative costs by automating business license applications. Just one click away from the D.C. government's home page, the site is easy to find.

Cities and states now look to D.C.'s business Web site as a model, according to Grimes. "We've had a lot of positive feedback," he says.

-Jason Peckenpaugh

WHY IT WON

Simplified a nettlesome bureaucratic process for business owners.

WHY IT'S INNOVATIVE

Gathered all necessary information for starting and running a business together in one location.

WHAT DIFFERENCE IT HAS MADE

Made Washington more inviting to prospective businesses and nonprofit organizations.