Government Online: The 3 Ps of Success Findings from Pew Internet Project research
GovDelivery Conference February 3, 2011
About the Pew Internet & American Life Project
Funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts Part of the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan fact tank in Washington, DC Study of how technology is shaping society and individuals Provide high quality, objective data to thought leaders and policy makers Do not promote specific technologies or make policy recommendations Go beyond topline findings Our research is based on nationally representative telephone surveys of: Adults 18+ (teens data based on 12-17 year olds) Drawn from dual-frame (landline + cell) samples
Trends in Online Government Title of presentation
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Government Online
Based on a survey of 2,258 adults conducted November 30 December 27, 2009 Our first look at how Americans use the internet for government interactions since 2003 Key research questions: What is the current state of online government interactions? How has it changed (or not changed) since 2003? How are Americans using social media in their government interactions? How to Americans feel about the internets impact on government service? Have the Gov 2.0 / online transparency movements resonated with ordinary Americans? Goal of this talk: give a sense of the importance/relevance of online content to ordinary users, help contextualize the presentations that follow
Trends in Online Government Title of presentation
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Trends in Technology Adoption: Where we are, where weve come from
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Internet use
Trends in Online Government Title of presentation
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Broadband adoption
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Mobile access
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Social media
Other online activities (% of adult internet users)
Email (94%) News (75%) Online video (66%) Social networking sites (61%) Visit government website (60%) Wikipedia (53%) Podcast (21%) Blogging (14%) Twitter (8%)
Trends in Online Government Title of presentation
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Research in Online Government
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Types of online interactions
% of internet users who did following in last 12 months:
Look for info about a public policy or issue Look up what services a govt agency provides Download govt forms Research official documents or statistics Renew a drivers license or auto registration Get recreational or tourist info Get advice/info about a health or safety issue Apply for govt benefits Apply for a govt job Pay a fine Apply for a recreational license Trends in Online Government Title of presentation 48%
Most recent govt website visited:
46% 41% 35% 33% 30% 25% 23% 19% 15% 11%
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5% 7% 32% 27%
Federal agency State agency Local gov't Specific task Elected official
11%
18%
Other
How users prefer to solve govt issues
Among all adults, phone is preferred slightly to online contact
Among internet users: 37% prefer online 33% prefer telephone Among broadband users: 39% prefer online 32% prefer phone
6% Phone 11% Web/email In person Letter 28% Other/Don't know
35%
20%
Email: 18% Website: 10%
Trends in Online Government Title of presentation
Desirability of phone/in-person contact increases with urgency and severity of issue; demographically, older adults and those with low income/education levels are big on phone and in-person contact
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How users find what they need
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Types of online government users
Four in ten online government users did 5+ different online government-related activities in preceding twelve months Demographically, these users tend to be: Well-educated (half have a college degree) Relatively well-off Skew towards middle-aged (not as many young adults or seniors) Also very tech-savvy: 90% are home broadband users 90% get news online 2/3 use social networking sites, 1/3 use status update svcs like Twitter
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Users mix online and offline interactions
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Heavy web users prefer web
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But in reality use many resources
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Heaviest users least likely to solve problems
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Other avenues for govt info
31% of internet users did at least one of the following activities in the preceding 12 months:
15% of internet users watched a video on a government website 15% of email users signed up to receive email alerts from a government agency or official 13% of internet users read the blog of a government agency or official
5% of internet users followed or become a fan of a government agency or official on a social networking site 4% of texters signed up to receive text messages from a government agency or official 2% of internet users followed a government agency or official on Twitter
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Mixed views on social media outreach
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Views by people of color
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Nearly one-quarter of internet users are government participators
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40% of internet users go online for data about government operations
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Mostly appeals to elites
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Final thoughts
Need for multiple channels/tools for info and assistance users want/expect offline and online help Populations with greatest need for government services often have low levels of access / technology skills Go beyond branding and press releases -- make online engagement with government actually engaging Isgovernment scaled up and prepared to deal with citizens as individual human beings at a massive scale? (Mark Drapeau) Many Gov2.0 offerings currently appeal to elites (white, upper class, educated, male, etc) but need to move beyond that crowd to be truly useful and attain widespread adoption
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Thanks!
name: Aaron Smith title: Senior Research Specialist email: asmith@[Link] web: [Link] twitter: @aaron_w_smith, @pew_internet
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