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 E-Government Access Up
Agencies continue to add more services for their constituents.
By Renee LaBarge
Article Summary:
October 2002 - iQ Magazine - More people are online than ever
before and government agencies are improving their Web sites to provide more
information and services for public access.
The number of people in the United States seeking government-related
information online increased 70% between 2000 and 2002, from 40 million in
2000 to 68 million in 2002, according to a Pew Internet and American Life
study.
Accenture attributes this growth to an increasing awareness among
government agencies worldwide about how technology can improve operations,
deliver federal services, and more effectively streamline administration.
“We’re finding a healthy appetite among the world’s government leaders
who are eager to embrace e-government, because they see its enormous
potential to help them improve the way they deliver federal services to
businesses and people,” says Vivienne Jupp, managing partner in the Global
eGovernment Service at Accenture. “The biggest potential is probably in the
area of customer-relationship management, when you consider that governments
are the largest provider of services in any country.”
Canada ranks first among the top ten countries with the most
comprehensive online government infrastructure. Singapore, the United
States, Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Finland, Hong Kong, Germany,
and Ireland round out the list, according to an Accenture study of 23
countries. Accenture rated government service categories that citizens and
businesses require, including human services (Social Security, welfare,
retirement benefits), revenue (taxes), postal services, education, justice,
public safety, and democracy. While each country in the study offered online
services in the majority of these categories, not one offered the full
services available in all categories. Country ratings were based on the
comprehensiveness of programs offered online; the more services available in
each category, the higher the rating. Canada is on track to provide access
to all its federal programs online by 2004, effectively offering
around-the-clock electronic access to all federal programs and services.
“Greater use of self-service options means that governments can provide
better service with fewer resources,” says Jupp.
The Pew and American Life study of general Internet users in the United
States found that users gave U.S. federal government sites an 80% overall
approval rating, meaning users find what they are looking for most of the
time. Users reported that searches on state and federal sites yield
successful results more than two-thirds of the time. However, only 46% of
searches on local government sites are successful. Web users also reported
that accessing government sites improved their interactions with all levels
of government agencies. |
