e-Government begins in Kansas

Kansas pioneered the development of e-Government for the nation with the creation of the Information Network of Kansas Inc. (INK) in 1990. Enabled by KSA 74-9301 et seq., INK has continued that pioneering spirit by continuing to work with its state agency and local government partners to open electronic avenues to government information and building interactive services with which citizens, businesses and governments can interact with Kansas government.

Providing the oversight and direction of the portal are the INK Board of Directors. INK's Board of Directors is a 10-member non-compensated Board consisting of cabinet secretaries and executive level membership from state and local units, elected officials, private sector executives and statewide user groups.

Kansas Secretary of State

President of Kansas Inc.

Kansas Public Libraries

Kansas Bar Association

Director of Information Systems and Communications, (non-voting)

(3) members from user associations of statewide character

(2) Executive Branch Chief Executive Officers

Current INK Board Listing

The members of the INK Board of Directors provide the governance structure of the organization to best achieve the objectives of the state, INK and its partner organizations. The INK Board of Directors meets monthly and establishes all portal policies, transactional pricing, partner contractual agreements and oversees the Executive Director. The development of the portal is contractually out-sourced to the Network Manager, a private service provider. This unique combination of private and public representation effectively places the governing control over the portal development with the data suppliers and the user groups who utilize the data.

The INK Executive Director is responsible for implementing all portal procedures and policies and quality assurance for state portal, as directed by the INK Board of Directors. The Executive Director provides guidance on the development of the portal on matters such as customer service, content management, portal policies, publication standards, and content partnership structuring. The Executive Director also ensures that projects are independent of any special influence, and that it serves all areas of the development community in an open, transparent, and effective manner.

The development and promotion of the state's official web portal (Kansas.gov) is facilitated through a private company, Kansas Information Consortium, LLC. (KIC), a subsidiary of NIC Inc. As the Network Manager, under the contractual oversight of the INK Board of Directors, KIC works with state and local government agencies, professional associations, business leaders, educators, and citizens to understand the needs of each constituency and then works to enhance existing transactional services and/or develop new applications to meet their needs.