The IOWAccess Revolving Fund Process

Funding for a project includes:

  • Analysis and assessment
  • Planning
  • Execution and rollout
  • First year operating expenses if work is performed by ITE*.

*Agencies are expected to cover maintenance and operating expenses beyond the first year.

IOWAccess provides funding support for State of Iowa government agencies

The IOWAccess Advisory Council has set the following guidelines for reviewing requests:

  • The request must be made by a State of Iowa, county, or local government agency
  • The request must meet the mission of the government agency
  • The request must provide a service to the citizens of Iowa
  • The website/application must provide electronic access to government information or transactions whether federal, state or local.
  • The government agency can outsource management of the website to a non-profit organization, but the agency is ultimately responsible for the information contained therein.

Overview of the Funding Approval Process

The Council evaluates an agency’s project proposals with an eye toward the value to Iowa's citizens. In addition, the Council may consider

  • The financial return on investment
  • Success of previous projects
  • Availability of resources
  • Immediacy and readiness of project sponsors
  • Integration of other agency services and data
  • Similarity and transportability to other applications

Following recommendation for funding by the Council, a project is presented for final funding approval to the Director, Department of Administrative Services (DAS). Should the funding involve a Request for Proposals (RFP) or a Request for Approval of Transaction Fees, the proposal is further considered by the Iowa Technology Governance Board.

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Funding Approval Decision Process

The IOWAccess Advisory Council makes three funding decisions, based upon the stage of a project's development. The Council does not prescribe the steps that must be used in developing a project; however, there are stages that are usually followed in developing a software application:

  1. Initiation
  2. Scope Analysis
  3. Planning
  4. Execution

These steps allow for consideration of the project's expected costs at various phases, indicated by Funding Decision numbers, allowing the Council to make its funding recommendations with greater accuracy than they could if funding was considered only at conception. By evaluating certain documents the Council can make an informed decision. The steps and their related documents are discussed in greater detail on our Funding Process page.

In addition to the Council's documents, there are a number of documents shared by the IT project manager and the client/customer. Depending on the stage of project development, these may be agreements as to content, descriptions of processes, examples of how the final product will look or act, or details of the final design. These process documents are used at each stage to form an agreement as to the final product, but are usually not utilized by the Council.

Stage Funding Decision Document(s) Submitted to the Council By Proposing Agency
1. Initiation   • Concept Paper and Acknowledgement
2. Scope Analysis 1 • Return On Investment (ROI) Planning Section
3. Planning 2 • Return On Investment (ROI) Execution Section
4. Execution 3  

For further information:

Contact Malcolm Huston, IOWAccess Manager, at malcolm.huston@iowa.gov or 515-281-0393.

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