PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Delaware and Michigan are the best states for e-government in the United States, according to the eighth annual e-government analysis conducted by researchers at Brown University. The federal portal USA.gov and the Department of Agriculture are the most highly rated federal sites.
Darrell M. West, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University, and a team of researchers examined 1,548 state and federal sites. The researchers analyzed 1,487 state Web sites (an average of 30 sites per state), plus 48 federal government legislative and executive sites and 13 federal court sites. Research was completed during June and July 2007. This series of e-government studies has been released annually since 2000.
Web sites are evaluated for the presence of various electronic features, such as online publications, databases, audio clips, video clips, foreign language content, translation services, advertisements, premium fees, user payments or fees, disability access, privacy policy, security policy, online services, digital signatures, credit card payments, e-mail addresses, comment forms, automatic e-mail updates, Web site personalization, PDA accessibility, and readability level.
Citizens are being asked to shoulder more of the cost of providing online services, the survey found. Seventeen percent of sites charge visitors a fee to use online services, up from 12 percent last year. In terms of online services, 86 percent of state and federal sites have services that are fully executable online, up from 77 percent last year. In addition, a growing number of sites offer privacy and security policy statements. This year, 73 percent have some form of privacy policy on their site, up from 71 percent in 2006. Fifty-two percent now have a visible security policy, down from 63 percent last year. Twenty-two percent of sites offer some type of foreign language translation.
In terms of disability access for the visually impaired, automated Bobby software, available from Watchfire, Inc., found that 54 percent of federal sites and 46 percent of state sites meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) disability guidelines. The federal numbers are the same as last year, while the state numbers are up from 43 percent.
The study also ranks the 50 states and various federal agencies on overall e-government performance. Using measures such as online services, attention to privacy and security, disability access, and foreign language translation, researchers rated the various state sites and compared their performance to last year.
The top ranking states include Delaware, Michigan, Maine, Kentucky, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Maryland, Texas, New Jersey, and Utah. The following table shows where each state ranked in 2006, with the previous year’s ranking and score in parentheses.
U.S. e-Government: The 50 States
RANK STATE RATING
1. (15) Delaware 65.6 (44.8)
2. (4) Michigan 64.0 (48.5)
3. (18) Maine 62.0 (43.8)
4. (21) Kentucky 56.2 (42.9)
5. (11) Tennessee 54.1 (45.7)
6. (22) Massachusetts 53.8 (42.5)
7. (35) Maryland 53.5 (39.5)
8. (1) Texas 51.3 (51.7)
9. (2) New Jersey 50.0 (51.5)
10. (5) Utah 47.0 (48.1)
11. (6) Montana 46.9 (47.8)
12. (31) California 46.0 (40.8)
13. (38) Georgia 45.6 (38.0)
14. (40) Oklahoma 44.9 (37.3)
15. (9) Indiana 44.4 (46.6)
15. (14) Minnesota 44.4 (44.9)
17. (19) Nebraska 44.3 (43.6)
17. (3) Oregon 44.3 (49.1)
19. (27) Connecticut 44.2 (41.5)
20. (10) Pennsylvania 43.7 (46.4)
21. (7) New York 43.5 (47.3)
22. (20) Missouri 42.9 (43.0)
23. (13) North Dakota 42.6 (44.9)
23. (16) Ohio 42.6 (44.1)
25. (25) North Carolina 42.5 (41.9)
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RANK STATE RATING
25. (17) South Carolina 42.5 (44.0)
27. (12) Washington 42.4 (45.4)
28. (33) Louisiana 41.9 (40.6)
29. (8) Illinois 41.8 (46.9)
30. (41) Colorado 41.7 (36.8)
30. (32) Rhode Island 41.7 (40.6)
32. (24) Iowa 41.1 (42.0)
33. (34) New Hampshire 41.0 (40.1)
34. (36) Arizona 40.8 (39.5)
34. (26) Florida 40.8 (41.6)
36. (23) Kansas 40.4 (42.0)
37. (50) Alaska 40.1 (28.3)
38. (43) Hawaii 39.5 (35.3)
39. (29) Virginia 39.3 (40.8)
40. (30) Idaho 39.1 (40.8)
41. (28) South Dakota 39.0 (41.1)
42. (42) Wisconsin 38.4 (36.5)
43. (37) Vermont 38.2 (38.6)
44. (39) Nevada 38.1 (37.3)
45. (49) Alabama 37.2 (28.4)
46. (45) Arkansas 36.7 (33.8)
47. (47) Mississippi 33.1 (33.4)
48. (44) New Mexico 32.9 (34.3)
49. (46) West Virginia 31.4 (33.6)
50. (48) Wyoming 28.6 (29.0)
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Top-rated federal Web sites include the national portal USA.gov, Department of Agriculture, Postal Service, Social Security Administration, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Commerce, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Department of Education, and the Internal Revenue Service. The following table lists the ranking of federal agencies, with last year’s rank and score in parentheses.
U.S. e-Government: Federal Agencies and Offices
RANK OFFICE RATING
1. (1) USA.Gov Portal 92.0 (84.0)
2. (2) Dept. of Agriculture 84.0 (80.0)
3. (7) Postal Service 84.0 (64.0)
4. (9) Social Secur. Admin. 79.0 (63.0)
5. (12) Securities Exch. Comm. 76.0 (60.0)
6. (4) Dept. of Commerce 72.0 (73.0)
7. (11) FCC 70.0 (61.0)
8. (27) FDIC 67.0 (48.0)
9. (8) Dept. of Education 65.0 (63.0)
10. (6) IRS 64.0 (71.0)
11. (17) NASA 61.0 (57.0)
12. (40) FDA 60.0 (42.0)
13. (16) Small Business Admin. 60.0 (48.0)
14. (3) Housing/Urban Devel. 59.0 (80.0)
15. (19) Con. Prod. Sfty. Comm 58.0 (54.0)
16. (38) Health Human Services 58.0 (44.0)
17. (15) Library of Congress 57.0 (58.0)
18. (30) Nat'l. Parks 57.0 (47.0)
19. (5) Dept. of Treasury 56.0 (72.0)
20. (20) Gen. Services Admin. 56.0 (54.0)
21. (36) Veterans Affairs 56.0 (46.0)
22. (10) Dept. of State 55.0 (62.0)
23. (23) U.S. House of Rep. 55.0 (53.0)
24. (13) Dept. of Interior 53.0 (58.0)
25. (31) EPA 52.0 (46.0)
26. (43) Homeland Security 52.0 (41.0)
27. (49) Nat'l. Labor Rel. 52.0 (32.0)
28. (18) White House 52.0 (57.0)
29. (31) Dept. of Energy 51.0 (46.0)
30. (50) Nat'l. Endow. Human. 51.0 (31.0)
31. (26) Dept. of Labor 50.0 (49.0)
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RANK OFFICE RATING
32. (37) CIA 49.0 (41.0)
33. (34) Gov't Printing Office 49.0 (46.0)
34. (42) Dept. of Justice 48.0 (41.0)
35. (22) Dept. of Defense 48.0 (53.0)
36. (14) Dept. of Transport. 48.0 (58.0)
37. (35) Nat'l. Science Fdn. 48.0 (46.0)
38. (24) Trans. Safety Board 48.0 (53.0)
39. (54) Ofc. Mgmt. and Budget 48.0 (28.0)
40. (28) Senate 48.0 (48.0)
41. (29) Federal Election Comm. 44.0 (47.0)
42. (44) Nat'l. Endow. Arts 44.0 (41.0)
43. (39) Equal Employ. Oppty. 40.0 (43.0)
44. (41) Federal Trade Comm. 40.0 (42.0)
45. (46) GAO 40.0 (38.0)
46. (33) Federal Reserve 38.0 (46.0)
47. (21) Cong.l Budget Office 37.0 (53.0)
48. (25) U.S. Trade Rep 37.0 (50.0)
49. (47) Federal Ct of Appeals 36.0 (37.0)
50. (45) Supreme Court 36.0 (41.0)
51. (51) 1st Cir. Ct. Appeals 32.0 (29.0)
52. (53) 8th Cir. Ct. Appeals 32.0 (28.0)
53. (56) 6th Cir. Ct. Appeals 28.0 (25.0)
54. (55) 11th Cir. Ct. Appeals 26.0 (26.0)
55. (48) 4th Cir. Ct. Appeals 25.0 (33.0)
56. (52) 9th Cir. Ct. Appeals 25.0 (29.0)
57. (57) 2nd Cir. Ct. Appeals 24.0 (24.0)
58. (59) 10th Cir. Ct. Appeals 22.2 (22.0)
59. (60) 3rd Cir. Ct. Appeals 20.0 (21.0)
60. (58) 5th Cir. Ct. Appeals 20.0 (24.0)
61. (61) 7th Cir. Ct. Appeals 20.0 (20.0)
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In the conclusion of their report, West and his research team suggest several means to improve e-government Web sites:
- have more foreign language translation options, especially in states with high numbers of foreign language speakers and on Web sites that warrant foreign language options;
- standardize privacy policies in order to create continuity throughout the sites;
- have more kids’ pages to get children interested in local and state government;
- use personalization and customization on Web sites with a lot of information. These features allow users to customize and tailor their account specifically for their needs and interests, allowing them to directly access needed resources.
For more information about the results of this study, contact Darrell West at (401) 863-1163 or see the full report at www.InsidePolitics.org. The appendix of that report provides e-government profiles for each of the 50 states and the federal agencies.