Case Studies

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) - Website and Outreach Support

The Challenge

DOT's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) tasked HeiTech Services to be the initial point of contact for all public information on its efforts to increase opportunities for small, disadvantaged and woman-owned businesses. This work included: hosting OSDBU's website; developing, printing, and distributing various marketing materials; developing and distributing the monthly newsletter, The Transportation Link; staffing their toll-free information line with trained information specialists; and staffing booths at various conferences and trade shows to represent the office.

While fulfilling all these duties, HeiTech Services also took the initiative to update and improve two of the most important means for OSDBU to communicate with its customers; i.e., the website and the monthly newsletter. The website had been designed a number of years ago and, as new materials were added and others removed, the design became, outmoded, and lacking in functionality. The newsletter, meanwhile, was not providing the type of information needed by OSDBU's customers - and was not providing it in manner that made the information interesting and easy-to-understand.

The Strategy

HeiTech Services was responsible for hosting and maintaining OSDBU's website (osdbu.dot.gov), as well as ensuring that all content on the site was up-to-date, accurate, and Section 508 compliant. During our over two years of service, we redeveloped the web site to improve functionality as well as improve the overall layout to assist the visitors to easily locate the information they were searching for. In addition, HeiTech Services developed several databases that were integrated into the site. One of these databases was the Department's Procurement Forecast, which documented all planned procurements targeted for small businesses for the fiscal year. This system permitted approved contracting specialists across the country to enter data remotely into the database, which was then reviewed by HeiTech Services staff for accuracy and posted onto the live site usually within 24 hours. HeiTech Services programmers also developed a list serv program which permitted mass distribution of announcements to various email lists.

For The Transportation Link, HeiTech Services was responsible for developing its first issue within two weeks of contract award. This quick turnaround was accomplished and, in the process, we put in place a series of procedures that allowed us to produce each month a newsletter that was consistently of high quality, relevant, and always on time. Articles included an in-depth examination of the DOT budget from the perspective of small, disadvantaged, and woman-owned businesses and an examination of state-level initiatives to improve the opportunities for OSDBU's customers. HeiTech Services also instituted a series of monthly features (all focused on improving the customers' bottom line) and brought on board a graphic artist to improve the look and feel of the newsletter.

The Results

The excellence of the revised Transportation Link was demonstrated by the large number of government officials and private firms who asked for additional copies so they could distribute them to other officials in the government or to potential clients.