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Citizen Market Research and Insights
Citizen Expectations for Service and Channel Preferences by Demographics
In focus groups the Office of Citizen Services conducted, we found that citizens want a variety of channels available to them for contacting the government. Citizen Services monitors the press and market research to see how this is evolving. Citizen Services also keeps its eye on how Americans are adapting to new channels.
Usability Study: Men Need Speed
May 2009 | Southern Illinois University
In a recent usability survey, researchers from Southern Illinois University found that after ease of use, men prefer fast download speed to easy navigation. Women prefer ease of use, easy navigation, and accessibility. The researchers hypothesize that these different usability criteria are due to differences in how men and women use the Web.
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Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates From the
National Health Interview Survey, January–December 2007
March 11, 2009 | Stephen J. Blumberg, Ph.D., and Julian V. Luke, Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, and Gestur Davidson, Ph.D.; Michael E. Davern, Ph.D.; Tzy-Chyi Yu, M.H.A., Ph.D.; and
Karen Soderberg, M.S., the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, University of Minnesota
The results show that the prevalence of wireless-only households and adults in 2007 varied substantially across states. State-level estimates ranged from 5.1% (Vermont) to 26.2% (Oklahoma) of households and from 4.0% (Delaware) to 25.1% (Oklahoma) of adults. In addition, approximately one out of four adults (25.4%) living in the District of Columbia were wireless-only.
Insight: Understanding Your Citizens, Customers and Communities
January 2009 | I&DeA
The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and the Local Government Association (LGA) have published this guidance document for councils and their partners on putting in place and using customer insight.
With the new comprehensive area assessment (CAA) requirements coming into effect in April 2009, councils and their service partners must show a collective understanding of their communities.
Adults and Social Network Websites
January 14, 2009 | Amanda Lenhart , Pew Internet & American Life Project
Joint Research, GSA OCS and Forrester, Q3 2008: Top Findings
September 29, 2008 | Karen Trebon, GSA's Federal Solutions Division
GSA's Office of Citizen Services worked with Forrester Research to insert custom questions about the government into their Online Survey.
Demand for Mobile Payments to Rise
August 5, 2008 | Helen Leggatt , BizReport.com
Over 38% of respondents to a global IDC survey said they would rather leave their house for a day without their wallet and keys than their mobile phones.
Gartner: Marketers Must Acknowledge Gen V
August 5, 2008 | Helen Leggatt , BizReport.com
Marketers have another demographic to monitor and target thanks to the Internet. The new group defies all other traditional demographics with a unique blending of attitudes, interests and general behavior.
U.S. Cities Rank Highly Among 14 World Cities in Resident Satisfaction
July 28, 2008 | Clifford Young, Ipsos News Center
Chicago enjoys the highest proportion of residents who are “very satisfied” with their city (49%), according to an Ipsos poll conducted for Veolia Environment in 14 of the world’s largest cities. New York ranks third with 41% of very satisfied residents (behind Sydney, 44%) and Los Angeles ranks fifth with 35% (in a tie with Paris and Lyon and behind Berlin, 38%).
The Changing Face of the U.S. Consumer: What We Can Learn from Census Data, and Why It Matters for Brands
July 7, 2008 Peter Francese, AdvertisingAge.com
It's not news that the nation is aging, but the fact that the average U.S. head of household is just six months shy of 50 is a startling statistic. Also factor in that regional demographics are diverging more than ever before. The young, multicultural West bears little resemblance to the old, largely white Northeast, where many communities are nearly childless. And that's to say nothing of the rapid and economically vital influx of immigrants.
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Generation Y Seeks More Interaction With Government Online
July 2, 2008 | Gautham Nagesh, GovExec.com
A recently released survey by Meritalk, an online community of government information technology specialists, shows that Generation Y prefers to connect with government online in an interactive manner similar to the way they seek out news and other information.
De-Generation - From the Greatest to the Latest Generation, Federal Employees Are More Alike Than They Realize.
July 1, 2008 | By Brittany Ballenstedt and Alyssa Rosenberg, Government Executive
As the government scrambles to figure out how to attract and retain the next crop of employees, some agencies and private recruiting companies have begun to develop research-based models combining science and anecdotal evidence that claim to explain the motives and personality characteristics of Generation Y, also known as millennials.
Critical Mass: The Worldwide State of the Mobile Web
July 2008 | Nielsen Mobile
Today there are already 40 million active users of mobile
Internet and there are individual mobile websites that
attract a reach as large as major cable networks or leading
newspapers and magazines. We expect the chain reaction
to continue: as more consumers have positive mobile
Internet user experiences, anchored by increasing device
capability, speed and content optimization, other
consumers will catch on.
M-Commerce the Next Big Thing?
June 17, 2008 | Helen Leggatt , BizReport.com
M-commerce, or commerce that takes place via a mobile device, is a nascent shopping channel, but it is one that is worth monitoring over the coming months.
The Internet and Consumer Choice: Online Americans Use Different Search and Purchase Strategies for Different Goods
May 18, 2008 | John Horrigan , Pew Internet and the American Life Project
The internet plays an important role in how people conduct research for purchases, but it is just one among a variety of sources people use and usually not the key factor in final purchasing decisions.
Edelman Trust Barometer 2007
January 31, 2008 | Edelman
In Edelman' largest-ever study on credibility and trust, findings show that trust in business is higher than in media and government across the globe. "In 16 of the 18 countries surveyed, people say that companies are having more of a positive impact on society than a negative one."
Public Attitudes Toward Government Accountability and Transparency 2008
January 2008 | Association of Government Accountants/Harris Interactive®
In January 2008, the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) commissioned a study by leading market research firm Harris Interactive®, to conduct the first in a series of annual surveys of public attitudes to government transparency and accountability. The objective of this first survey was to establish a baseline understanding of public attitudes, concerning transparency and accountability progress—or the lack of it—which could be tracked annually. A secondary objective was to use the survey findings to raise the profile of this important issue and help to drive understanding of it among policymakers, government employees and the public. The survey findings reveal deep dissatisfaction among the American public with both the availability of government financial information and the way it is delivered to the people. Much of this dissatisfaction has to do with issues of trust and a gap between what the public expects and what is actually delivered. The survey also captured information relating to how the public would use fiscal information, were it provided to them in a usable form
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Segmentation of Government Customers
January 24, 2008 | Robert Smudde - USA Services Federal Solutions Division
Six types of customer contacts with the government have been identified as part of a segmentation created by the U.S. General Services Administration’s USA Services Division: informational, beneficial, dutiful, commercial, intergovernmental, and exceptional. A customer can be a citizen, non-citizen, business, other government agency, military personnel, law enforcement, or any other entity that an agency provides a service for.
» View report (Word doc.)
Government-Wide Assessment of Citizen Service Activities Survey
June 15, 2007 | USA Services Federal Solutions Division
USA Services conducted a Government-Wide Assessment (GWA) Survey to learn how and where people interact with the federal government and how to support agencies who may want assistance in improving their customer service functions. Thesurvey is an expanded follow-on to the Budget Data Request conducted by the office of Management and Budget in 2004. We evaluated the results to drive the development of new products and services to help agencies and their customer service professionals.
Citizens' Service-Level Expectations: Phase 2 - Supplemental Study
March 30, 2007 | MITRE Corp. under contract to USA Services
Follow up research on service-level expectations and preferences for
communication channels when contacting government for persons age 65
and older, persons in lower income households (under $30,000 annually)
and persons of Hispanic heritage.
» Download PDF (3.3mb)
Citizens' Service-Level Expectations: Phase 1
November 18, 2005 | MITRE Corp. under contract to USA Services
GSA's USA Services asked MITRE Corp. to identify the expectations of
members of the public who contact government agencies today, as well as
expectations they have about contacting government agencies in the
future. This document provides a summary of the observations and
conclusions MITRE identified through a literature review and from data
derived from a series of focus group sessions conducted by Daston Corp.
[November 8, 2005 / MITRE Corp.]
» Download PDF (2.9mb)
How Americans Get in Touch with Government
May 24, 2004 | John Horrigan, Pew Internet and the American Life Project
The Pew Internet and the American Life Project has conducted a study
to examine how national, state, and local government officials have (or
have not) used the Internet to conduct government business, get
elected, and interact with constituents. Internet users are
increasingly turning to E-Government sites to carry out their business
with government. But Internet users and non-users alike value having
more than one way to get in touch with government.
» View report (external site)