RESTON, VIRGINIA (May 16, 2001) – eMaryland Marketplace, the State of Maryland's eProcurement portal, has been selected as one of 20 government agencies to be honored with E-Gov “Pioneer Awards” for best practice E-Government programs.  E-Gov 2001, the International Electronic Government Conference and Exposition, announced today that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Don Evans is on tap to present the awards to the honorees on July 12, 2001 in Washington, D.C.

      “Maryland is using the power of information technology to enhance the already favorable business climate with programs like eMaryland Marketplace,” said Maryland Department of General Services Secretary Peta N. Richkus.  “Our system delivers savings for government agencies and our private sector vendors; both are realizing financial and resource efficiencies.”

     “E-Government applications definitely are getting more comprehensive and complex,” says Carlynn Thompson, a member of the awards Selection Committee, as well as Director of the Research Development, and Acquisition Information Support Directorate in the Defense Technical Information Center.  “Initially, the majority of agencies were simply publishing information on the Web.Now, we are seeing really good examples of how they are taking advantage of the technology and using it in a way that impacts the world, through sites such as the eMaryland Marketplace.”

     eMaryland Marketplace marked its first anniversary of operation in March 2001.  Providing both catalog and interactive bidding to state and local government agencies, it is the first fully functional state procurement platform to move beyond the development phase.  It was also the first to use a self-funding model.  Additionally, eMaryland Marketplace broke ground as the first state-sponsored eProcurement vehicle to include local governments from its inception, offering the advantages of intergovernmental aggregation from the outset.  In its first year, eMaryland Marketplace posted more than $10 million in procurement on its Web site, enrolled close to 300 companies, and trained more than 300 buyers.

     Conceived by the Maryland Department of General Services (DGS) procurement division, eMaryland Marketplace allows Maryland to move forward on one of Governor Parris N. Glendening’s top priorities, which is to make Maryland the national leader in delivering government services over the Internet: at least 50% by 2002, 65% by 2003, and 80% by 2004.

     By using the Internet for procurement, Maryland is reengineering its time-consuming, paper- dominated procedures.  Using eMaryland Marketplace, buyers can establish “real time” communications and business transactions with vendors.  Procurement officers can purchase or solicit bids for goods and services in minutes, rather than days or weeks.  Invoicing and payment are accelerated, even immediate when purchasing cards are used for payment.

     eMaryland Marketplace levels the playing field for participating vendors, regardless of their geographical location or company size.  Vendors experience savings by accessing one portal to conduct business with government buyers.  eMaryland Marketplace vendors who previously allocated resources for representatives to go to each agency and pick up bid solicitations now have immediate electronic access to the information.

     With nothing more than Internet access and a browser, authorized users of the system can log on from anywhere.  eMaryland Marketplace is available to state, county and municipal agencies to both solicit bids and buy from state contracts and has established a model e-Procurement platform.  And it has helped reinforce Maryland's position as “The Digital State.”

     DGS will demonstrate its outstanding application in the E-Gov Government Solutions Center (GSC), at E-Gov 2001, July 9-12, at the Washington Convention Center.  A record 295 organizations were nominated for the “Pioneer Awards.”  Included among the honorees are California's Office of the Governor for the “My California” Web site, the State of New Mexico's Human Services-Child Support “eChild Support,” and Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles Alternative Service Methods.

     The fourth annual E-Gov Pioneer Awards recognize Federal, state, and local leaders who have developed innovative Electronic Government programs that increase productivity, save limited resources, and improve the quality, timeliness and accuracy of citizen services.  This year’s Selection Committee included representatives from the General Services Administration, the Defense Technical Information Center, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as industry representatives.