FirstGov.gov Ranks First in Brown University Study of E-Government

GSA #10042
September 23, 2003
Contact: GSA Public Affairs (202) 501-1231

Washington, DC—Brown University's fourth annual report, State and Federal E-Government in the United States September 2003, ranked www.FirstGov.gov the highest among the 60 federal Web sites and 1,603 State Web sites reviewed.

FirstGov.gov, the U.S. Government's Official Web Portal, serves as the government's front door to information, services and transactions citizens seek from government.

In particular, the report cited FirstGov for "including a whopping 62 services and giving users the option to receive e-mail notification from FirstGov when the website is updated." The criteria used in the studies are readability, accessibility, performance, online services, attention to privacy, and security of government Web sites. Based on a scale of 100, FirstGov.gov earned a score of 84. In the 2002 report, FirstGov.gov ranked seventh. Moving to the top of the index is a direct reflection of FirstGov.gov's responsiveness to citizen input, whether through e-mail, responses to an online customer satisfaction survey, focus groups, and usability testing.

Darrell M. West, Director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has conducted these studies on E-Government for the past four years. These reports have become a major factor in influencing the design and functionality of government Web sites.

The GSA Office of Citizen Services manages FirstGov.gov, the U.S. Government's official web portal. The office serves as the nation's front door to information and services American citizens require from their government. In addition to FirstGov.gov, Citizen Services provides citizens access to information in whatever medium they prefer—the web, e-mail, telephone, or in print.