More Web sites are improving over time than declining, and 25 percent of sites measured score 80 or higher on the ACSI's 100-point scale, which is considered the threshold for superior satisfaction. Furthermore, the study finds that highly satisfied citizens are considerably more likely to recommend or return to the Web site or use it as the primary channel for interaction with the government, which saves time and taxpayer dollars.
"E-government is smart government," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results and author of the report. "It's a win-win proposition because consumers prefer the convenience of a mouse click, and government will benefit from improved efficiency, cost-savings, accountability and transparency."
The study investigates which elements of the Web site have the most impact for improving satisfaction and finds that search is the top priority for an incredible 96 percent of e-government sites with a search function. Functionality is a top priority for 57 percent of sites, and navigation for 37 percent of sites.
The study also measures satisfaction by functional category: e-commerce /transactional sites (+1.6 percent to 78.2), career/recruitment sites (+0.9 percent to 77.3); department/main sites (-0.5 percent to 73.3); and news/information sites (+1.1 percent to 73.3). As with previous quarters, e-commerce/transactional sites continue to top all functional categories, and many government sites in this category rival the satisfaction levels of private sector e-commerce sites.
"E-commerce and transactional sites may have higher satisfaction than other functional categories because it is easier to define success: were you able to execute your task? But for information sites or department sites, the question more often is: could you find what you were looking for?" said Errol Hau, senior director of government markets at Foresee Results. "Improving search could certainly help those sites close the gap."
"Amidst all this economic and financial uncertainty, where the federal government has promised a massive capital injection to bailout some of the nation's financial institutions and banks, an investment in e-government makes good sense," said Claes Fornell, head of ACSI at the University of Michigan. "The research shows that improving citizen satisfaction will improve adoption and recommendation, and anything that can improve the efficiency of government will help offset expenditure."
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Quelle/Source: Government Technology, 27.10.2008
