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PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new study of global e-government undertaken by researchers at Brown University shows that 21 percent of government agencies around the world are offering online services, up from 16 percent in 2003, 12 percent in 2002, and 8 percent in 2001. Taiwan and Singapore now lead the United States and Canada in overall e-government performance.
The fourth annual survey, conducted by Darrell M. West, professor of political science and director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University, and a team of researchers at the Taubman Center, measures the online presence of governments in 198 countries. The research evaluates government Web sites on two dozen criteria, including the availability of publications, databases, disability access, privacy, security, and the number of online services. Previous studies of global e-government were released in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
This year's study reviews 1,935 government Web sites during June, July, and August 2004. Among the sites analyzed are those of executive offices, legislative offices, judicial offices, cabinet offices and major agencies serving crucial functions of government, such as health, human services, taxation, education, interior, economic development, administration, natural resources, foreign affairs, foreign investment, transportation, military, tourism and business regulation.
Researchers find that 89 percent of Web sites have online publications and 62 percent have links to databases. Only 14 percent (up from 12 percent in 2003) show privacy policies and 8 percent present security policies (up from 6 percent in 2003). According to automated software provided by Watchfire Inc., government Web sites are lagging on disability access. Only 14 percent of sites provide some form of disability access, such as assistance for the vision- or hearing-impaired. That figure is unchanged since 2003.
In addition to looking at particular features, researchers also rate countries for overall e-government performance. Using an assessment based on the number of services plus access to information, disability access, privacy, security and foreign language translation, they rate each country on a 100-point scale. The most highly ranked country is Taiwan, followed by Singapore, the United States, Canada, Monaco, China and Australia. Some countries had sizeable moves up from last year, based on new features added to their Web sites.
Among the 198 countries surved this year, Somaliland ranked 160th on the e-government performance ladder, down from 44 on last year, Somalia was ranked 192.
In order to improve electronic government, the report suggests that governments undertake several steps to reach their full potential for accessibility and effectiveness. For example, sites for some nations include links that don't work. Other nations have links that take a long time to load or lead users to incorrect sites.
Many sites are under construction or have not been updated for long periods of time. Designers should attempt to keep the sites as current as possible to ensure that all information presented is accurate and complete, the report suggests. Furthermore, while many sites offer links to e-mail addresses, several such links connected the visitor to an address of a webmaster as opposed to an actual government official. This makes it difficult for citizens to communicate with members of their government.
Sites that offer an A-to-Z index, provide a clear list of links to agency or department Web pages, or organize their online services by agency or function instead of one comprehensive list are more navigable and user-friendly. Encountering an intricate and convoluted portal makes users less likely to explore the site and be able to find desired information or online services.
Web sites that are bilingual or multilingual are helpful to facilitating accessibility, as long as the link actually takes the user to the intended language. Links which automatically revert to the original language frustrate users who use the translation service.
Researchers found that well-developed Web sites help users explore and learn about the country. The biggest impediments to investigating a government's site are lack of organization, cluttered portals, technical difficulties and language barriers. With some changes to the outline of their sites, governments should be able to increase the accessibility and user friendliness of their sites.
MEDIA INFORMATION:
For more information on this study, contact Darrell West at Brown University, 401-863-1163 or Darrell_West@brown.edu.
The full global e-government study is online at www.insidepolitics.org. The appendix of that report presents detailed Web profiles for each of the 198 national governments in the study.
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