A new report on the state of UK government on the internet has been published by the UK National Audit Office on 13 July 2007, based on research by a team from the Oxford Internet Institute
(University of Oxford) and the LSE Public Policy Group (London School of Economics and Political Science).
The report to Parliament 'Government on the internet: progress in delivering information services online' looked at the progress made by government in delivering services and information online since the NAO last reported in 2002. Government organisations spend some £208 million on websites each year. Usage of the main government websites has risen over time and some sites are widely and repeatedly used. For example 78 per cent of Jobcentre Plus online service users visited its sites at least once a week. However, the study reports a number of areas where departments and agencies could improve value for money in the provision of online information and services.
The researchers found that:
- Government web sites tend to be text heavy and complex to understand and to navigate
- Many agencies have little information about how much online provision of services costs
- Most departments lack sufficient information about who is using their sites and how they are being used
The team was led by
Professor Patrick Dunleavy
of LSE and
Professor Helen Margetts of the University of Oxford.
Professor Margetts said: "There is great potential for government organizations to use the internet imaginatively, for example to identify what people want to do on line. That way, services can be designed around the citizen and citizens can interact with government using the type of applications they use in everyday life."
For the NAO press release, click here.
Press enquiries: Donna Watson NAO Press Office: Tel: +44 (0)20 7798 7038
For the report of the Public Accounts Committee which is based on this study, see the UK Parliament website.
To download a copy of the report, see below. Hard copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on +44 (0)845 702 3474.
Contact
Professor Helen Margetts, Oxford Internet Institute on +44 (0)1865 287210 or email.
Our research methods were:
- A survey of central government organisations to collect information about the cost and usage of their online services;
- A census of central government websites to evaluate how informative and interactive they are;
- Analysis of web links across the government domain to find out how ‘connected’ government websites are;
- Experiments to explore users’ experience of government websites;
- Focus groups and polls with citizens on how they use government services online;
- Identification of good practice; and
- Comparison with governments from other countries, local government and the private sector.
The study team for this report was
Professor Patrick Dunleavy
(LSE),
Professor Helen Margetts
(Oxford),
Jane Tinkler (LSE),
Simon Bastow (LSE),
Oliver Pearce (LSE) and
Tobias Escher (Oxford).
To view the contents of the Government on the Internet report, please use the links below:
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