2015 Citizen Engagement Awards Nominations Now Open

SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwired - March 18, 2015) - The Governing Institute today announced nominations are open for the 2015 Citizen Engagement Awards. Nominations will be accepted through April 16, 2015, at the Governing Institute website http://governing.com/gov-institute/citizen-engagement. The most innovative and impactful citizen engagement projects and leaders will be recognized at an August 2015 ceremony in Los Angeles.

The Citizen Engagement Awards program was created by the Governing Institute and is underwritten by Accela, the leader in cloud-based citizen engagement solutions. The mission of the Awards is to recognize the jurisdictions and champions who are creating more accessible, transparent, and citizen-centric state and local governments. Award categories include:

• City/County Government
• State Government
• Leadership/Innovator

The awards program is open to any state or local government agency. All projects nominated must be in production and fully operational by the submission deadline. The leadership award is open to any elected official, government employee, civic organization or nonprofit agency supporting citizen engagement through technology.

"The Governing Institute is continuously searching for best practices from state and local government," said Julia Burrows, Institute Director. "These awards will shine a spotlight on the agencies and leaders who champion new innovations for the people they serve. We are excited to share what is happening in forward-thinking cities, counties and states. We will highlight how they are using open data, crowd-sourcing and mobile solutions to accelerate citizen engagement across the country."

"As the leading platform provider for government, Accela is always looking for innovative approaches to improving access to government and encouraging citizen engagement," said Maury Blackman, Accela President and CEO. "The Citizen Engagement Awards provide a perfect opportunity to recognize pioneering agencies and leaders while sharing their unique approaches with peers."

About the Governing Institute | www.governing.com/institute

The Governing Institute advances better governance by improving performance and outcomes through research, decision support and executive education.

The Institute is a division of e.Republic, the nation's only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government and education.

About Accela | www.accela.com

Accela provides cloud-based civic engagement solutions for government. Accela's Civic Platform, which includes open APIs and mobile apps, enables and improves core processes for city, county, state and federal governments. Accela's solutions uniquely address the diverse needs of their constituents by making publicly available information more accessible. The Accela Civic Platform includes solutions for land management, asset management, licensing and case management, legislative management and more.

With more than 1,000 customers worldwide, Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with offices in San Francisco, New York, Melbourne and Dubai. For more information, visit www.accela.com.