The Center for Technology in Government (CTG) at the University at Albany has released two new reports:

• Preserving State Government Digital Information: A Baseline Report http://www.ctg.albany.edu/publications/reports/ digital_preservation_baseline
• State Government Digital Preservation Profiles http://www.ctg.albany.edu/publications/reports/ digital_preservation_profiles

These complementary resources are based on results generated from a survey administered in January of 2006 to state/territorial librarians, archivists, and records managers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories, and was designed to create a state government digital information preservation baseline. The survey was undertaken as part of a two-year project http://www.ctg.albany.edu/projects/lc to assist the U.S. Library of Congress in working with U.S. states and territories to form collaborative arrangements and develop strategies for preservation of significant state and local government information in digital form.

Press release http://www.ctg.albany.edu/about/press_lc_20060724

This year's report highlights the exciting array of work that has enhanced CTG's leadership position in digital government research and practice, as our program portfolio reached a new level in 2005. /ulink> . One of the key elements of this project is establishing international working groups as a targeted way to encourage advances in DG research topics that cross national boundaries.

CTG is now recognized as a world leader in digital government research and practice. In 2005, we received a National Science Foundation grant to lead the creation of an international digital government research community, and we were invited to participate as a full partner in a research collaboration sponsored by the European Commission. At the same time, our work here at home in New York is deeper and richer than ever. We are working closely with the State CIO Council on important statewide IT management challenges that are re-shaping the way the state uses information and technology to achieve its goals.

In addition, we continue to work across all levels of government, especially in the areas of cross-boundary collaboration and information sharing and integration, which have become our hallmarks..

To read more about CTG's work, please download the 2005 Annual Report online at: http://www.ctg.albany.edu/about/pubs?sub=annualreports

CTG has received a $1 million grant from the NSF to create a framework for a sustainable global community of digital government researchers and research sponsors http://www.ctg.albany.edu/projects/dgi. One of the key elements of this project is establishing international working groups as a targeted way to encourage advances in DG research topics that cross national boundaries.

Limited funds are available to support the establishment of 3-5 groups, to be competitively selected through a peer review process. To submit a proposal for an international working group, please download the Working Group Call for Proposals http://www.ctg.albany.edu/projects/dgi/cfp.pdf and the Working Group Budget Proposal Spreadsheet http://www.ctg.albany.edu/static/dgi/travelestimate.xls .

Please contact CTG as soon as possible with an Optional Expression of Interest; Full Proposals are due August 22, 2006 @ 5 p.m. Please send all questions to dgi@ctg.albany.edu.

The Digital Government Society (DGS) of North America is a multi-disciplinary organization of scholars and practitioners engaged in and committed to democratic digital government. The DGS equips its members with a professional support network focused on both scholarship and effective practices that nurture technical, social, and organizational transformation in the public sector. The society welcomes members from all sectors, endorses diverse, multi-, and interdisciplinary research undertakings relevant to both theory and practice, and strongly encourages practitioner-researcher exchanges at local, regional, national, and international levels.

For more information: http://www.dgsociety.org/index.php