The federal government has awarded $9.5 million to Smartronix over the next seven months to redesign the Recovery.gov Web site, and up to $18 million through 2014. The site will track all the spending in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, potentially down to the subcontractor level.

However, Smartronix -- which has a mid-October deadline to redesign the site -- doesn't list Web development expertise in its profile on its Web site. The company does say it specializes in "net-centric enterprise services," cybersecurity, custom enterprise software, systems design, and health IT.

Only one Smartronix press release since 2006 -- a notice that one Smartronix graphics designer worked on an award-winning Navy Website -- has focused on Web design, and only a handful mention Web development as part of the scope of Smartronix' work. However, in the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board's request for quotation for the Recovery.gov redesign, it is noted that the government was looking for "an innovative, award winning, Web-design and implementation firm with expertise on user-focused, data-driven web designs."

"Recovery.gov 2.0 will use innovative and interactive technologies to help taxpayers see where their dollars are being spent," James A. Williams, Commissioner of GSA's Federal Acquisition Service, said in a press release announcing the award. "Armed with easy access to this information, taxpayers can make government more accountable for its decisions."

The project RFQ calls Recovery.gov an "unprecedented effort" and says that "time is of the essence" in the redesign. In its press release, the GSA noted that the contract was awarded quickly to ensure the winner could meet the deadline for the site redesign. The Request for Quotation had been posted on June 11, only 28 days ago.

Smartronix will be under heavy pressure to get Recovery.gov done right and on time.