““On Demand” On Demand” Citizens:Citizens: e-government at high speed

John B. Horrigan, Ph.D.Director of Research

Pew Internet & American Life ProjectMay 25, 2005Presentation to

FedWeb Spring 2005FedWeb Spring 2005

Presentation OutlinePresentation Outline

Trends in internet adoption & use Findings from our e-gov study of last

year What it adds up to The future

Home media capacity - 1975Home media capacity - 1975

Product Route to home Display Local storage

TV stations phone TV Cassette/ 8-track

broadcast TV radio broadcast radio stereo Vinyl album

Local news mail

Advertising newspaper delivery phone

Radio Stations

Tom Wolzein, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co

Home media capacity – nowHome media capacity – now

Product Route to home Display Local storage cable VCR

TV stations phone/DSL TVInfo wireless radio DVD“Daily me” broadcast TV PC Web-based

storage content Server/ TiVo (PVR)Cable Nets broadcast radio stereo PCWeb sites satellite monitorLocal news mail headphones CD/CD-ROMContent from express delivery pager individuals iPod / storage MP3 player /

iPodPeer-to-peer subcarriers / WIFI cell phone pagers - PDAsAdvertising newspaper delivery phone cable boxRadio stations PDA/Palm game console

game console Satellite radio non-electronic Storage

sticks/disks Tom Wolzein, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co

Time & money spent on mediaTime & money spent on media: TV, radio, music, daily paper, books, mags, home video, movies, internet

$365

$641

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

Yearlyexpenditure

19902000

32% (real) increase in media & information spending

6% increase in time spent on media/informationSource: Statistical Abstract of the United States

Percent of adult Americans with internet access, 2000-2005

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

Jun-

00

Oct-00

Feb-0

1

Jun-

01

Oct-01

Feb-0

2

Jun-

02

Oct-02

Feb-0

3

Jun-

03

Oct-03

Feb-0

4

Jun-

04

Oct-04

Feb-0

5

Broadband at home, 2000-2004

0

10

20

30

40

50

60Jun-0

0

Sep-0

0

Dec-0

0

Mar-

01

Jun-0

1

Sep-0

1

Dec-0

1

Mar-

02

Jun-0

2

Sep-0

2

Dec-0

2

Mar-

03

Jun-0

3

Sep-0

3

Dec-0

3

Mar-

04

Jun-0

4

Sep-0

4

Dec-0

4

Millio

ns o

f A

meri

can

s

Time spent onlineTime spent online(number of minutes online, typical day – by age: Jan. ‘05)

70

52

99

69

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

all internet users home broadbandusers

under age 30over age 50

Where does the time come from?Where does the time come from? (Self-reported estimates, broadband users only, January 2002)

Activity Increase Decrease No change

Watch TV 1% 37% 62%

Shop in stores 1 31 67

Work at home 25 3 71

Read paper 5 18 77

Work at office 3 10 84

Commute 1 13 86

Family time 5 8 87

Friends’ time 5 3 92

Social events 3 3 94

Elite “on demand” internet usersElite “on demand” internet users

Information empowers, reduces uncertainties Health care Civic/political engagement Consumer research

Internet helps foster social capital Creativity

Create own content Recombine other Web content

Upshot – rising expectations among tech elite about internet’s effectiveness

Trends in general e-Gov useTrends in general e-Gov use (% of internet users who have gone to federal, state, or local Web sites)

4753

5666

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2000 2001 2002 2003

Nature of e-gov experienceNature of e-gov experience

Most (80%) find what they are looking for at government Web sites (2002)

Lots of basic information searching. o Tourist/recreational informationo Researcho Get formso Service inquiryo Policy issues

Rising expectations (2002): 65% of all Americans expect government info to be on

the Web 39% of all Americans will turn to the Net first for next

government contact.o 37% of all Americans will turn to phone

Online surfing for government Online surfing for government information in 2003information in 2003: 77% of online users did at least one of following

66% look for general information from federal, state, or local sites

27% have sent emails to government 28% have gotten advice about a health or

safety issue from a government agency 34% get recreational/tourist information 41% research official documents/statistics 23% get information about or apply for benefits 30% have used the Internet to try to change a

government policy or affect a vote on a law

Contacting government:Contacting government:How does the internet’s fit in?How does the internet’s fit in?July 2003 RDD survey of 2,925 adult Americans

What share of people contact government?

By what means do they contact government?

What do they contact government for? Are they successful? Satisfied? What are people’s preferred method of

contact?

Contacting Contacting GovernmentGovernment

54% of all Americans contacted the government in year prior to survey 72% of Internet users contacted government 23% of non-Internet users contacted

government 63% of all Americans were Internet users in

July 2003 survey 54% figure excludes those whose last

contact with government was mailing taxes

We call them Government Patrons

What people did the last time What people did the last time they contacted government … *they contacted government … *

Carry out a transaction 30% Get information about specific

question 25% Express an opinion 19% Get help solving a problem 11% Other 7%

* Based on contact within past year not related to mailing in a tax return, n=1,657, July 2003 survey

Means of Contact – Means of Contact – Government PatronsGovernment Patrons

Method of contact last time … 42% phone 29% Web site 20% in person 18% email 17% letter

People use multiple channels – 22% do

Preferred means of contact … 40% phone 24% Web site 13% in person 11% email 10% letter

People switch along way – 23% do

Preferred Means of Contact, Preferred Means of Contact, level of government level of government (Government Patrons)(Government Patrons)

State Federal Local

Telephone 39% 38% 43%

Web site 24 31 18

In-person 12 9 22

Email 14 12 7

Letter 11 9 8

Important caseImportant case: 14% of population with disabilities

They are less likely to be online 40% are internet users

Less likely to contact government 48% have

Less likely to be successful in last interaction with government 52% report success

Very likely to prefer non-cyber means to contact government 44% prefer telephone contact 21% prefer in-person 16% prefer writing a letter

Preferred means of Preferred means of contact – contact – by reason for contact – Government Patrons

Complex/urgent

Solve a problem

Transaction Get information

Telephone 46% 47% 40% 41%

Web 14 17 30 33

In person 16 15 15 10

Email 10 9 6 10

Letter 11 9 7 4

Preferred Means of Contact Preferred Means of Contact by Issue Area (1) – all respondentsby Issue Area (1) – all respondents

Over the Phone

On the Internet

Some other way

Personal Tax Issue

51% 17% 26%

Auto License or Permit

16 22 54

Express Opinion

28 27 38

Government Benefits

28 39 24

Preferred Means of Contact Preferred Means of Contact by Issue Area (2) – all respondentsby Issue Area (2) – all respondents

Over the Phone

On the Internet

Some other way

Research (school or work)

18% 57% 16%

Programs agencies offer

23 53 17

Recreational licenses

17 26 45

Recreational or tourism activities

26 49 18

Pace & patterns of usePace & patterns of use

It’s an occasional thing Two-thirds of Government Patrons contact gov LESS

OFTEN than every few months It’s personal

71% for personal business – 72% from home It’s multi-modal

23% used multiple channels It’s search-engine driven…. Marketing could stand

some help 37% used search engines Only 38% know about 800 numbers and Web sites (Even in phone calls – 27% called the operator or

used phone book) It’s interactive

67% want a response to emails

Success & SatisfactionSuccess & Satisfaction

76% of all who contacted government were “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with experience

63% were successful in accomplishing what they wanted 65% of Internet users were successful 53% of non-Internet users were successful

46% said contact took about the amount of time they expected

28% said it took more time than expected 24% said it took less time than expected

Success and Satisfaction Success and Satisfaction by Type of Contactby Type of Contact

Type of Contact Last contact Successful

Satisfied with last contact

Last contact was transaction

82% 86%

Last contact for information

65 78

Last contact to express opinion

36 64

Last contact to solve problem

52 68

Contact for personal reasons

63 76

Contact for business reasons

64 79

Success and Satisfaction: Success and Satisfaction: by educationby education

Educational Level

Last contact Successful

Satisfied with last contact

Less than high school

48% 66%

High school graduate

60 76

Some college 63 80

College graduate 68 80

Problems – phone contactProblems – phone contact (% ‘yes’)

Not enough time 36%

Can’t find right person 35

On hold too long 31

Getting transferred too much 30

Call not returned 24

Don’t know where to call 21

Can’t call during business hours

18

Problems – Web contactProblems – Web contact (% ‘yes’)

Web site doesn’t have information needed

33%

Web site difficult to navigate

20

Had difficulty figuring out which site to go to

18

Site had bad/outdated links

16

Had problem downloading forms or instructions

13

Some Puzzles …Some Puzzles …

What is behind Internet users contacting government more often than non-users?

What is behind Internet users reporting higher success rates with their interactions with government?

Could be Internet users possess certain characteristics that increase likelihood of contact or probability of success

Answers: Contact

Internet seems to increase likelihood that people contact government … Controlling for lots of demographic,

socio-economic, and attitudinal factors Two effects:

Net users are inherently more likely to contact government

The Internet encourages additional contact

Answers: Success

Being an Internet user, in itself, isn’t associated with successful outcomes with government

Preferred channels of contact matters: Those who prefer the phone or the Internet are more

likely to be successful Those who prefer to write letters or show up in

person are less likely to be successful Where do preferences for the Internet come from?

Those who have high levels of education, lots of experience with the Internet

Efficiency benefits of internet use to contact government

Perceptions on e-gov’s impactPerceptions on e-gov’s impact … …

How much, if at all, has the Internet improved the way you interact with government?

A lot Some A little

Not at all

Federal 27% 23% 16% 27%

State 25 24 19 26

Local 18 20 18 37

Upshot …Upshot …

Internet is a new channel to contact government People use it & like it It is additive

Internet can help with outcomes in government contact but . . .

It helps people who already can help themselves

What people want & need from e-govWhat people want & need from e-gov

Multiple channels still important – even for Internet users… People use multiple channels in an interaction

with government & switch along the way Offline channels important to sub-

groups… One-third of America not online People with disabilities

“Real time” interaction still preferred for urgent or complex problems.

FutureFuture

Broadband Has risen from 32% to 50% of home

internet users since our 2003 study Voice over Internet Protocol

Very low consumer adoption now but promises to deliver real-time online help to customers

Service delivery for “on demand” Service delivery for “on demand” citizenscitizens

Users want to be able to toggle to interactive help in real-time

Study complementarities Do some channels work better in

conjunction with others? Integrate traditional channels into

Web & email

Reach me…Reach me…

John B. Horriganjhorrigan@pewinternet.org202.419.45001615 L Street, NW, Suite 700Washington, DCwww.pewinternet.org