Satisfaction with government sites declined for a third consecutive quarter and has fallen to its lowest rating since 2005, according to the University of Michigan’s E-government Satisfaction Index for the quarter ending this month. The index measures sites’ functionality, navigation, search abilities and appearance, based on data gathered from voluntary online surveys of visitors to 105 government sites that participate in the survey through the Treasury Department’s Federal Consulting Group. Agencies choose to participate in the survey to help track performance as required by the president’s management agenda and the Government Performance and Results Act, according to the group’s Web site. The Office of Management and Budget last month said that e-government initiatives saved taxpayers an estimated $508 million in fiscal 2007 by making more information and services available and easier to find on the Web, thus cutting down on the amount of time employees spend answering questions and processing paper forms. With such feedback, SSA constantly upgrades the online application process — for example, by rewriting to make information easier to understand, and by allowing applicants to save portions of an application in one sessions and to finish in a later session. The site, a clearinghouse of information for small-business owners, now offers an improved search function, more content on state and local compliance, and a database searchable by city and state to help users locate the types of permits they would have to get to open a variety of shops or services. read more

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