A message from DOJ:

Feeling the pressure to interact with stakeholders and citizens online? The federal government has raised the bar by encouraging all agencies to use internet collaboration tools to be more inclusive, transparent and interactive.

Working together, our challenge is to enable broader use of this new form of communication and do it in such a way that we manage the requirements and risks around public records law, document retention, terms of use agreements, public meetings, employment policy and defining who speaks for your agency.

You won't want to miss these workshops as we explore and refine the unique opportunities, legal and policy challenges that we face. In the process, your participation can help shape the state's future policy.

These workshops are sponsored by the Department of Justice with support from the DAS Public Information Officer, Enterprise Information Strategy and Policy Division and Human Resources Division.

Price for each workshop is $35. Follow the links below to learn more and register for these workshops.

The enterprise collaboration subscription for Oregon.jivesoftware.com has been extended until September 2009 and the number of seats have been increased from 200 to unlimited. The internet collaboration tool will be upgraded to the latest release in October 2009. It will be available for use by all agencies, boards, commissions and their business partners in county/local government or key stakeholders as long as the agency determines they have a business purpose to collaborate online together.

As of September 2009, the first phase of the new Site Publisher upgrade to Teamsite (Oregon.gov Content Management) is still scheduled for the end of October.

The state's Web site ranks among the nation's best, survey finds! U.S. States E-Governance Survey says Oregon's site is No. 2 in the country.

"Oregon's state agencies have worked hard to give our citizens easy access to their state government, and our Web site is a major part of that effort," said Dugan Petty, the state's chief information officer. "It's good to see real evidence that the effort is paying off. Our high ranking testifies not only to the advancement of our Web technology, but also to the high quality of the information and services that our state agencies provide to our citizens."

Petty praised the State E-Governance Board, the State E-Government Advisory Council, and all the other agencies, boards and commissions who shape the state's Web site, develop its content and keep it current.

Way to go, team -- keep up the great work!