Complete title:
U.S. States E-Governance Survey (2008) - An Assessment of State Websites
Description (short summary):
The U.S. States E-Governance Survey assessed the practice of digital governance in states across the United States by evaluating their websites and ranking them on a national scale. Simply stated, digital governance includes both digital government (delivery of public service) and digital democracy (citizen participation in governance). Specifically, the authors analyzed security, usability, and content of websites; the type of online services currently being offered; and citizen response and participation through websites established by state governments.
The methodology of the U.S. survey of state websites mirrors the E-Governance Institute previous research on digital governance worldwide in 2003, 2005Â and 2007. The instrument for evaluating state websites consisted of five components: (1) Privacy/Security; (2) Usability;
(3) Content; (4) Services; and (5) Citizen Participation. For each of those five components, the research applied 18-20 measures, and each measure was coded on a scale of four-points (0, 1, 2, 3) or a dichotomy of two-points (0, 3 or 0, 1). Furthermore, in developing an overall score for each state the authors have equally weighted each of the five categories so as not to skew the research in favor of a particular category (regardless of the number of questions in each category). This reflects the same methods utilized in the worldwide surveys. To ensure reliability, each state website was assessed by two evaluators, and in cases where a significant variation (+ or - 10%) existed on the adjusted score between evaluators, websites were analyzed a third time.
Based on the 2008 evaluation of the 50 states, Maine, Oregon, Utah, South Carolina and Indiana represent the states with the highest evaluation scores.
The survey results indicate that all the 50 states selected for the survey have developed official websites, and the average score for digital governance in states is 50.12. Maine received a score of 69.17, the highest ranked state website for 2008. Oregon had the second highest ranked state website with a score of 66.46, while Utah ranked third with a score of 63.17. South Carolina and Indiana complete the top five ranked state websites with scores of 63.11 and 61.29, respectively.
This research represents a longitudinal effort to evaluate digital governance in the 50 states in the United States. The continued study of states, with the next U.S. Survey planned in 2010, will further provide insight into the direction and the performance of e-governance in the United States.
Number of pages:
72
Related document:
US: Municipalities e-Governance Report (2008)
