2005 Finalist: Maintenance Efficiency and Cost Effectiveness (MECE)

Experienced maintenance professionals recommended 92 ways to improve asset management, staffing, winter operations efficiency, department work force versus contracting, and equipment optimization. Through the implementation of MECE, PennDOT has refocused the highway maintenance community on core business functions, redirected savings, increased productivity and facilitated the use of better highway maintenance business practices.

2005 Finalist: Blue Ribbon Passport Program

The keystone in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s agritourism initiative, this program aims to partner various agricultural related assets and promote agricultural awareness through increased tourism. The program also helps drive agricultural economic development by assisting farms and farm-based ventures with additional income, thus preserving small farm operations and increasing tourism revenue in rural communities.

2004 Alternate: Adjusted Gross Revenue—Lite (AGR-Lite)

This insurance program protects producers of agricultural commodities from reduction or loss of revenue due to natural disasters or fluctuations in market prices, paying out when a producer’s gross revenue falls below a level of coverage that the producer selects.

2004 Finalist: Terrorism Awareness and Prevention

This initiative uses specially trained law enforcement officers to educate citizens about the realities and myths of terrorism. The program strives to help citizens understand the threat of terrorism to our society, explains their part in protecting their community, and offers common sense measures citizens can take to enhance their own security.

2003 Winner: Basic Education/Higher Education Science and Technology Partnership

Through this program, mobile educators are able to work directly with classroom teachers and deliver fully prepared experimental materials and equipment to ensure that state-of-the-art, hands-on laboratory experiences in biology and chemistry are a regular part of the science curriculum for secondary students throughout Pennsylvania regardless of school district wealth.

2003 Finalist: Center for Workforce Information and Analysis New Hire Data Mart

This program provides functional access to the center’s employment data to increase the effectiveness of new hire reporting in Pennsylvania. To accomplish this goal, several data sources are extracted, transformed and loaded into the center’s centralized data mart.

Have an innovative program in your state? Apply for an Innovations award!