Iowa State staff, faculty and students who created a database and Web site on state housing resources will be given the Vice President’s Hammer Award today in Des Moines.

The Hammer Award gives special recognition to teams who have made significant contributions in support of the President’s National Performance Principles.

This includes putting customers first, cutting red tape, empowering employees and getting back to basics, according to the IOWAccess Web site.

The College of Design and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies worked jointly on the Web site project, titled “Make Your Move: Online Housing Resources for Iowans,” said Michael Miller, systems support specialist and principal investigator for this project.

The ISU team received a $100,000 grant from General Services Administration in December 1997 to create a searchable public database on general housing and financial services information, Miller said.

This project was part of the IOWAccess Initiative, which budgeted $1 million for 13 separate projects designed to make government, communities and industries more accessible to the public.

“This is information that has never been pulled together in one place before,” he said. “It gives people choices and options, and all the financial institutions have the opportunity to update their information.”

The ISU team surveyed more than 700 agencies and financial partners on home ownership, elderly housing, homeless shelters, various financing options and other services.

The information gathered was put into the database and placed on the IOWAccess Web site.

“It’s user-centered and user-based,” said Roger Baer, assistant dean of the design college and co-collaborator of the project. “We had to make it work on all levels, on all machines.”

The project started out focusing only on financial institutions but branched off after all the information on other programs and services was received, Miller said.

The elderly care housing information in particular has been well-received, he said.

“I think the elderly benefit the most because of the specific housing options available,” said Nora Ladjahasan, research associate.

Miller said it was truly a joint effort in the design, research and surveying aspects of the project. The project also was given the State of Iowa Governor’s Award in November 1998.

“The recognition is nice,” Miller said. “It’s a validation that this information is useful, not just a pretty site to look at, although it is a pretty site.”