The Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA) is continuing its e-Government micro-grant program to accelerate the adoption of electronic government services by placing more Colorado government services, information and products online.

Special districts interested in applying for an e-Government grant should visit the e-Government grant program website at www.colorado.gov/sipagrants to view the Overview Document and Application Form. Applications must be submitted online by December 7, 2011. Awards will be announced in January 2012. Questions related to the program should be directed to sipa@cosipa.gov.

SIPA, a self-funded organization, has been serving governments across Colorado since 2004 by supplying them with websites, application development, and other services. Recognizing the tight budgetary times and the ever increasing demands of highly mobile and connected citizens, SIPA wants to foster the use of the Internet as a tool for delivering government services.

In 2010, the first year of the program, SIPA received 89 applications requesting equipment and/or services. These requests totaled approximately $480,000, and SIPA was able to award 24 cash grants totaling $100,000 and 40 service grants with a worth of $200,000. Cash grant recipients included the Town of Breckenridge to place its town code online, Greenwood Village to create an online recreation registration system, and the Health District of Northern Larimer County to update their current website and develop a lottery application for clinical dental care. Services such as payment processing and website development and hosting were offered at no cost as these are existing SIPA services.