"This is a significant achievement for Utah," said Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr. "Utah.gov is user-friendly, interactive and timely, and it's gratifying to receive this honor." Utah's Chief Information Officer Stephen Fletcher agrees. "One of the most promising aspects of eGovernment is its ability to bring citizens closer to their governments. Fully executable, online service delivery benefits both government and its constituents."
Researchers at the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions at Brown University reviewed 1,559 Web sites and evaluated them against a broad range of criteria, including availability of online services, disability and foreign language access, quality control, ease of use, privacy and security policies, and credit card payment options.
"Utah.gov is extremely easy to navigate with the most popular online services front and center on the homepage," said Darrell M. West, director of Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions and the author of the study. "And with a link in the header to the online services menu as well as around-the-clock customer service, finding the information you need can be quick and easy."
Additionally, the Brown study notes, Utah.gov offers up-to-the-minute government news, alerts, traffic, and weather. Links to Utah's privacy and accessibility policies can be found at the bottom of every page.
In 2004 alone, Utah.gov processed 2.4 million transactions and experienced over 17 million visits.
About Utah.gov
Utah.gov is the state of Utah's official Web portal (www.Utah.gov) and was ranked first in the nation in the Center for Digital Government's 2003 Best of the Web competition. The portal is a collaborative effort between the state of Utah and Utah Interactive. It was built and is marketed, operated, and maintained by Utah Interactive, a Salt Lake City-based wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV).
Quelle: Business Wire, 23.09.2005
