Case Studies / State of Ohio Transparency Portal
Government
Business Intelligence
Government Solutions
Web App Development
Switchbox built the State of Ohio Treasurer's public fiscal transparency portal—an enterprise-scale platform handling 4.5 billion data points that catapulted Ohio from #46 to #1 nationally for government transparency, earned an A+ rating, and won the Ohio Interactive Awards Game Changer honor.
$0B
In searchable transactions
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Individual data points
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U.S. transparency ranking
0 (D- to A+)
Transparency rating improvement
The Challenge
Making $550 billion understandable to 12 million people
The Ohio State Treasurer set a bold goal: make Ohio the national leader in public fiscal transparency. But the path forward was anything but simple.
The system had to publish and organize over 4.5 billion pieces of financial data, simplify one of the most complex accounting systems in the country for everyday citizens, and support tough questions—like why a state agency spent $675 at Victoria’s Secret—with clear, credible answers.
And it had to do all of this securely, reliably, and at scale. This wasn’t just a website. It was a public accountability platform designed to reshape trust in government.
Our Approach
Building a platform for trust at scale
Switchbox worked closely with the State Treasurer’s team of legal, financial, and technical experts during a comprehensive planning and design phase. We architected a custom hosting environment inside the Treasurer’s secure data center, engineered to support 50,000+ concurrent searches.
One full month of load testing was built into the project plan to ensure reliability under heavy public demand. Rigorous data gathering and categorization—handled by state staff and aligned with usability best practices—was coordinated alongside a dedicated UX team tasked with translating dense financial records into user-friendly, searchable content.
What We Built
A scalable, secure platform built for performance and clarity
Switchbox delivered a custom hosting environment inside the Treasurer’s secure data center, built to support 50,000+ concurrent searches. The platform underwent one full month of load testing to ensure reliability under heavy public demand.
A dedicated UX team translated dense financial records into user-friendly, searchable content. The goal: make the site feel as simple as a Google search while surfacing billions in financial activity.
The result was a platform that balances the complexity of government accounting with the simplicity expected of a consumer-grade search experience—built to earn and sustain public trust.
The Results
From #46 in the nation to #1 in transparency
Ohio’s transparency portal didn’t just meet expectations—it redefined them. The state jumped from #46 to #1 nationally for government transparency websites, moved from a D- to an A+ transparency rating (and has held that A+ ever since), and was featured on national networks including CNBC.
The portal won the Ohio Interactive Awards ‘Game Changer’—the only government agency to earn the honor. It is now a gold standard in fiscal accountability and proof that public data, when done right, can build real trust.
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