Prince William County Recognized In the 19th Annual Digital Counties Survey

Prince William County won third place in the 2021 annual Digital Counties Survey sponsored by the Center for Digital Government (CDG) and the National Association of Counties (NACo). The survey, conducted by CDG in partnership with NACo, identifies the best technology practices among U.S. counties, including initiatives that streamline delivery of government services; encourage open data, collaboration, and shared services; enhance cybersecurity, and contribute to disaster response and recovery efforts.

“We are grateful to the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties for recognizing Prince William as a top ten digital county,” said County Executive Christopher Martino. “Our IT Department has been laser-focused on building highly resilient, scalable, and secure infrastructure to support our residents, businesses, visitors, and employees. This proved critical to seamless operations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and will serve us well into the future,” he added.

The Department of Information Technology’s (DoIT) strategic plan and $24.9 million IT modernization effort were cited as key reasons that solidified the win in the 250,000-499,999 population category. These initiatives along with a student hot spot program that deployed more than 4,000 Wi-Fi hot spots to families with school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate a proactive approach to delivering just-in-time services to support County operations and the community.

“Digital equity, access, and inclusion are top priorities in Prince William County,” said Deputy County Executive Michelle Casciato. “This award recognizes the significant accomplishments the County has already achieved in these areas and reinforces the expected impact of the County’s Technology Inclusion Initiative.”

Other notable initiatives that contributed to the win include DoIT’s workforce development plans; PWC Lab - testing and proving ground for new technologies; cybersecurity initiatives integrated into every County IT project; and multi-jurisdictional, cooperative efforts on interoperability, emergency communications, information sharing, and regional grants.

“We want to thank the hard-working IT Department team, who every day, empowers our residents, businesses, visitors, and County employees with the services and tools they need to succeed,” said Rob Mancini, CIO, and Director of Information Technology. “We also want to recognize the leadership of Deputy County Executive Michelle Casciato, County Executive Christopher Martino, and the Board of County Supervisors for their steadfast support and encouragement of our IT Department’s commitment to delivering transformative IT services that make a difference in our community.”

In its 19^th year, the Annual Digital Counties Survey Awards recognize the top ten counties in five categories based on population. Ten counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia won awards this year, placing Prince William in good company and ranking Virginia among the top states in the country for IT innovation.  Learn more about Prince William County’s win and this year’s winners.