Better connected 2005 |
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The efficiency agenda is prompting us to encourage citizens to switch wherever reasonable to 'self-servicing' their requests. Authorities are also looking to encourage intermediaries from the private and voluntary sectors to act on the citizen's behalf. To achieve this, online services need to be designed around the needs of the citizen. Websites must — more than ever before — allow people to transact their business with government, in ways that are easy to find and simple to use. I commend this report as essential reading for everyone in the field of implementing electronic local government. Ian Watmore, Head of e-Government Unit/Government Chief Information Systems Officer (CIO)
This is Socitm Insight's seventh annual survey of the state of development of local authority websites across the UK. 2005 is a landmark in local e-government policy with the target to achieve 100% electronic service delivery by 31 December. In England, this date will also be the target for achieving the required 'priority service outcomes'. The website is crucial for implementing these policies. How do local authority websites match up to these targets, and also to the need to join up services? To find out the answers to these questions, and many others, we have examined every UK local authority website and judged them against our standard for quality websites of being 'useful, usable and used'. The results published in Better connected 2005 show that local authority websites are continuing to improve in terms of their content and usability. However, there is little evidence of a major surge forward in recognition of the targets for 100% electronic service delivery and it is clear that some councils will struggle to meet the ODPM's priority service outcomes – particularly in the area of accessibility. However, as Ian Watmore says in his foreword to the report, those local authorities that Better connected 2005 shows to be lagging should not lose heart. Providing online services is a bit like playing a game of snakes and ladders illustrated on the report cover — major advances can be made relatively quickly, and adopting the best practice revealed in Better connected 2005, and our companion publications Better connected: building for the future, and Building usage of council websites: summary of early findings from the Socitm Insight website take-up service will be one of the best ways of doing so. Order your copy of Better Connected 2005 Order your copy of Better connected: building for the future Order your copy of Building usage of council websites
Also, a discussion forum will soon be available for you to post comments and read what others think about what the report has to say. How the research reported in Better connected 2005 was done A team of reviewers visited all 468 local authority sites between November and December 2004. Using a structured questionnaire with over 85 questions, the reviewers assessed how well each website performed on: · website content and currency This 'mystery shopping' exercise was supplemented by nine other separate surveys conducted with a series of partner organisations. Those involved and the surveys done include: e-citizen national project for results from their market research programme Using the research findings, the team then classified the websites as 'promotional'; 'content'; 'content plus' or 'transactional'. 'Transactional' means significantly interactive and is seen as the goal to which all local authority websites should be aspiring in order to meet the requirements of e-government. This year's results This year's headline results are that: 38 local authorities (8%) have transactional sites – compared with 23 (5%) in 2004
● net increase overall of 128 websites moving up a category - compared with 146 in 2004 175 councils (37%) have stayed at the same level over the past three years, comprising 12 that have remained P sites; 82 that have remained C sites; and 71 that have remained C+ sites. New features in Better connected 2005 A number of new items have been added to the report this year. These include: A survey of the websites of eight passenger transport executives (PTEs) Report contents summary Better connected 2005 is presented in six parts: Part A Today's context: We set out the purpose of this survey, the process by which websites are assessed, including our quality assurance procedures and the criteria of 'useful, usable and used' that we apply. We then summarise the changing policy context (eg the Efficiency Review), which will influence the way in which websites develop in this landmark year of 2005. Part B Overview of this year's results Part C This year's results — useful content Part D This year's results — usability Part E This year's results — usage Part F The future
Socitm Insight has developed a rating system for local authority websites. This rating reflects the potential for local authority websites to pay a major role in the delivery of e-government. On this basis, all local authority websites should be aspiring to achieve 'transactional' status as soon as possible, with the steps along the way being the achievement first of promotional, then content, and then content plus status. Promotional sites provide basic promotional information about the organisation with very little scope for interaction. They might typically concentrate on tourism, economic development and basic departmental information, with limited information on individual services beyond an A-Z with telephone contact numbers. Little use will be made of e-mail or online feedback, although a few gateway links might be provided. Content sites provide useful content and encourage some interaction. They have more sophisticated promotional information (eg accommodation search, downloadable files) and include features such as What's New pages, A-Z service listings and keyword site search facilities. They usually include some basic user interaction (eg clicking on an area map to find details of local councillors) and make use of e-mail and online feedback on home pages. Content plus sites provide very useful content and offer some examples of moreadvanced online self-service features. They allow individual users to define their own search criteria (eg search by postcode for service information, refine searches of local tourist accommodation by type and price), may include links to services such as Girobank for online payment and online databases for items such as library catalogues, planning applications, committee minutes. Service information is comprehensive and makes widespread use of e-mail, online feedback and even discussion forums. Such sites also typically host information on behalf of the wider local community. Transactional sites are accessible, complete, thoughtful and coherent. They have developed more than one type of online interaction (eg payment, applications, consultation, bookings) and also offer examples of customer recognition (eg ability to check outstanding Council Tax balance). They also provide specific email contacts for different service enquiries and make widespread use of databases, downloadable forms and online form filling (eg for service requests, appointments). They routinely utilise the potential of the Internet for joined-up government (eg OFSTED reports listed alongside schools listings) and offer unique examples of the application of the medium in a local government context. Acknowledgements Socitm would like to thank the following organisations for their help in contributing to Better connected 2005. Their advice has helped to add balance with a number of different perspectives: e-citizen national project (www.e-citizen.gov.uk) Better connected 2005 comes in the form of a detailed guide of 228 pages in its e-version (available to Socitm Insight subscribers) and 204 pages in the printed version, which excludes some of the technical appendices. There is a separate 8 page briefing Efficiency, transformation and the council website written for elected members, chief executives and senior managers. If you subscribe.... you can read these reports online or take an electronic copy by going into the subscriber only area. If you do not subscribe....you can order your copy now at a cost of £350 (£325 Socitm members). Remember that, while our publications are available to non-subscribers, it will be more cost-effective to take out a subscription. Better still, why not subscribe now and make sure you keep in touch with all our research and best practice advice and receive all our publications as soon as they are available? You can find out more about the benefits from this link Subscribe now to Socitm Insight To order Previous publications still available in this series Special offer If you order a copy of Better connected 2005 (price £350) together with a copy of Better connected: building for the future (price £150) we will send you both publications for just £450. Further information about Better connected: building for the future can be found from this link. Finally.......Don't forget the value added service from the Better connected project team. You can also have your website assessed in detail by our experts. For further information contact insight@socitm.gov.uk
Last modified on 01/03/2005 11:15 |
