The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, recognized Oakland County’s G2G (“government to government”) Marketplace as part of the 100 programs named as Semifinalists in this year’s Innovations in American Government Awards competition. G2G Marketplace will compete to be named a Finalist in the competition and have the chance to be awarded the $100,000 grand prize in Cambridge this spring.
G2G Marketplace advanced from a pool of more than 500 applications from all 50 states, and was selected by the Innovations Award evaluators as examples of novel and effective action whose work has had significant impact, and who they believe can be replicated across the country and the world.
“Oakland County is consistently ranked among the most digitally advanced counties in America by the Center for Digital Government every year,” Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. “For Oakland County to be a semifinalist for more national recognition is a testament to the innovation and creativity by the outstanding staff in our Information Technology Department.”
G2G Marketplace helps other participating jurisdictions evaluate and procure enterprise technology solutions and other resources. Participating governments can access pre-negotiated contracts with guaranteed best pricing and terms for tested, successful solutions, a best practices library, a blog, and other resources.
“The G2G Marketplace operates with a threefold advantage,” Deputy County Executive and CIO Phil Bertolini said. “Oakland County wins by lowering the cost of technology through economies of scale, participating governments win by also lowering their costs, and G2G vendors win by gaining access to a greater number of potential customers in the government sector.”
The end result is an improved economic environment for everyone, including taxpayers who ultimately receive a higher return on investment with more cost-effective and efficient government services. The first-year savings resulting from G2G Marketplace was $207,117. Return on investment payback for G2G Marketplace will be achieved in year three, well ahead of initial estimates. Cost avoidance due to G2G Marketplace is estimated to be more than $163,000 annually, and total cumulative savings are estimated to be more than $514,498 in the
program’s sixth year.
There are currently 563 registered city, county, and state government users in 49 states, and G2G Marketplace continues to grow. More than 9,700 unique visitors viewed more than 50,000
pages in the marketplace, and best practices documents have been downloaded more than 1,299 times.
“These programs demonstrate that there are no prerequisites for doing the good work of governing” said Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Innovations in American Government Program at the Ash Center, “small towns and massive cities, huge federal agencies and local school districts, large budgets or no budgets at all — what makes government work best is the drive to do better, and this group proves that drive can be found anywhere.”
The Semifinalist programs represent a cross-section of jurisdictions and policy areas, and embody one of the most diverse and sophisticated groups that have advanced to this stage in the competition’s 30-year history. They were invited to complete a supplementary application last fall, answering in-depth questions about their work, the process of creating and sustaining their programs, and how they believe they can teach others to do what they do. The Ash Center expects to announce 10 programs that will be named Finalists and be invited to Cambridge to present to the Innovation Awards Program’s National Selection Committee in March, with the grand prize winners to be named in June.
For more information about G2G Marketplace, go to www.G2GMarket.com.
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective government problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world’s citizens. For more information, visit www.ash.harvard.edu.
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