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

1. “On Demand” Citizens:e-government at high speed John B. Horrigan, Ph.D. Director of Research Pew Internet & American Life Project May 25, 2005 Presentation to FedWeb Spring 2005

2. Presentation Outline • Trends in internet adoption & use • Findings from our e-gov study of last year • What it adds up to • The future

3. Home media capacity - 1975 Product Route to homeDisplayLocal 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

4. Home media capacity – now Product Route to homeDisplayLocal storage cable VCR TV stations phone/DSL TV Info wireless radio DVD “Daily me” broadcast TV PC Web-based storage content Server/ TiVo (PVR) Cable Nets broadcast radio stereo PC Web sites satellite monitor Local news mail headphones CD/CD-ROM Content from express delivery pager individuals iPod / storage MP3 player / iPod Peer-to-peer subcarriers / WIFI cell phone pagers - PDAs Advertising newspaper delivery phone cable box Radio stations PDA/Palm game console game console Satellite radio non-electronic Storage sticks/disks Tom Wolzein, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co

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

6. Percent of adult Americans with internet access, 2000-2005

7. Broadband at home, 2000-2004

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

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

10. Elite “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

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

12. Nature of e-gov experience • Most (80%) find what they are looking for at government Web sites (2002) • Lots of basic information searching. • Tourist/recreational information • Research • Get forms • Service inquiry • 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. • 37% of all Americans will turn to phone

13. Online surfing for government information 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

14. Contacting government: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?

15. Contacting Government • 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

16. What people did the last time 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

17. 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 Means of Contact – Government Patrons

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

19. Important 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

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

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

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

23. Pace & 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

24. Success & 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

25. Success and Satisfaction by Type of Contact

26. Success and Satisfaction: by education

27. Problems – phone contact(% ‘yes’)

28. Problems – Web contact (% ‘yes’)

29. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. Perceptions on e-gov’s impact … • How much, if at all, has the Internet improved the way you interact with government?

34. 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

35. What 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.

36. Future • 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

37. Service delivery for “on demand” citizens • 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

38. Reach me… John B. Horrigan jhorrigan@pewinternet.org 202.419.4500 1615 L Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC www.pewinternet.org