| REVIEWS
Cruising
Cyberspace
Web
Site Pick Of The Month
By Pam Wegmann
The state of Louisiana
has developed a written plan for Louisiana’s future. It’s mission
is to make the state economically competitive with the remaining forty-nine
states and the world by the end of the next two decades. The plan
is called Louisiana: Vision 2020 and the link to it can be found
at
www.lded.state.la.us
The Louisiana Department
of Economic Development (DED) commissioned a group of ten task forces each
dedicated to looking at specific areas such as tourism, education, workforce
readiness, and technology with each task force being populated by experts
in that particular area from throughout the state. The chairs of
each of the task forces then comprised the Vision 2020 task force.
The work of all of
the groups was rolled up into an economic development plan which by the
year 2020 would have Louisiana with a vibrant, well balanced economy with
a well educated workforce and high quality of life.
The purpose of
the DED’s Vision 2020 Web site is to publish the plan, of course.
It is a great amount of content and the site is well organized and easy
to navigate. It is also simply and logically laid out.
However, even though
it meets its main objective of providing relevant content, the site
could use more graphics and interactivity to make it more interesting.
It completely lacks visuals and although it does employ some tables, for
the most part it’s a lot of text. In it’s defense, the text is presented
in a readable format.
If you click on
the Vision 2020 Index link, you will be taken to the list of items in the
plan. The Executive Summary link explains the plan and sets the stage
for the other links and content.
The Economic Overview,
which is all on one lengthy screen, links to sections of the plan
such as the Sustainability of the Current Economy, The Southern Region,
and Louisiana’s Place in the World. This latter link contains an
interesting discussion about changes taking place in the economy due to
global competition. There’s even a SWOT analysis (strength, weaknesses,
opportunities, threats) which gives equal time to frank admissions such
as the state’s “banana republic image,” as well as recognition of
its natural endowments.
The Vision, Mission,
Philosophy link gives a high level explanation of what the plan is going
to try to accomplish and the Goals of Vision 2020 link focuses on the three
goals of the plan: learning, a diverse economy, and standard of living.
To see how the goals
are to be fulfilled, click on Goals and Objectives which states measurable
objectives for each goal with tables showing incremental milestones at
five year intervals for the next 20 years. Some baselines are yet
to be set because certain events have not yet happened such as the LEAP
tests to be given to public school students in the spring of 2000.
The Benchmark link
also publishes the benchmarks for each goal so progress can be measured.
Overall, the site
meets its goal of content being king and is neat and easy to follow.
It could just use some visual interest. To keep this site fresh,
it will need to be updated as baselines are established and progress is
made. The DED should be applauded for publishing its plan on the
Web for all the world to see. It will be interesting to see over
the next five to fifteen years how the state does against its own plan
and if it continues to be honest in publishing its results, or lack thereof,
on the Web.
Knowledge is Power!
:-)
January 2000
Questions/Comments
can be sent to pam@info-matters.com
or faxed to 504.738.0016. You can also reach Ms. Wegmann at 504.738.0070.
|
