Strategies for Serving Citizens Better with IT Martha Dorris Acting Deputy Associate Administrator GSA Office of Citizen Services North American Day 2005

Strategies for Serving Citizens Better with IT Strategies to learn what citizens need –What do we know about citizens? –How do we know? How to evaluate customer satisfaction Transforming government to serve citizens better

Helping government become more citizen-centric Providing information and services from a single Web portal FirstGov.gov Providing answers to citizens’ questions by phone and National Contact Center Breaking down inter-agency barriers to connect the channels and ensure consistent and accurate responses USA Services

Citizen Services Provide citizens with timely, consistent responses about government information and services via –FirstGov.gov –1-800-FED-INFO –Pueblo, CO, Publications Center –and USA Services e-gov initiative

FirstGov.gov Searches over 12 million Federal, State, local pages 48 million page views – million page views – ,000 sites linked – ,000 sites linked – 2004 #1 Web site in government – Brown University #1 in Web quality and E-Gov readiness – United Nations One of the 50 Most Incredibly Useful Sites – Yahoo!

FirstGov en Espanol Launched in October 2004 Links to over 125 Spanish-language government sites 760,000 visits (1/2 year) 955,000 page views (1/2 year)

National Contact Center Total National Contact Center Contacts5.4 million FED-INFO calls1.5 million Assisted Citizen Contacts3.8 million Inquiries.1 million

USA Services Agencies use GSA services and infrastructure to improve customer contacts Agreements in place with 25 agencies to handle their misdirected calls or s Answers phone/ questions transparently on behalf of other agencies, (e.g., State Dept for assistance after the tsunami and hurricane). Could replace other agency phone and Web-based services

Strategies to learn what citizens need Regular polls, surveys, feedback Monitor what citizens are asking about Online trend analysis reports Monitor the news Focus groups, usability analysis

What do we know about citizens contacting government? Polls say: 63% use the Internet but they want multiple channels to contact government 47% use the Internet/ to contact government; 40% say they prefer the phone 72% of Internet users contacted government vs. 23% of non-users 76% of those who contacted government were satisfied with the experience 63% successfully accomplished what they wanted Pew Internet and American Life Survey: How Americans Contact Government, 2004 and Trends 2005

97 million Americans have used government Web sites: 52M researched policy issues 38M ed officials on policy changes 36M got health and safety info 29M applied for benefits 24M participated in organized lobbying Pew Internet and American Life Survey: Trends 2005 What do we know about citizens contacting government?

FirstGov.gov How to get Government benefits and grants How to get a Federal job How to buy things from the government International travel Immigration and naturalization FED-INFO/ IRS and taxes Consumer issues and complaints Immigration and naturalization Passports and international travel Citizens most want to know about:

Evaluating Customer Satisfaction American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a standard measurement tool used widely in the private sector and now by government. –2004 FirstGov.gov satisfaction score was 73 –FirstGov en Espanol was 73.8 –FirstGov.gov ACSI scores compared to others: Governmentwide FirstGov.gov Google Average 80 70

Transforming government to serve citizens better Our vision of a citizen-centric future: One gateway to ALL government info online One phone number/ for any info One agency providing info 24/7 Instant, accurate, consistent information Multiple languages Personalized information

For more information… Martha Dorris Acting Deputy Associate Administrator GSA Office of Citizen Services and Administration