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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Seattle's web site rated a ‘world leader in e-volution of democracy’
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
7/11/2002 12:25:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rona Zevin (206) 684-8264
Bruce Blood (206) 386-1758
Katherine Schubert-Knapp (206) 684-0909
Kathy Sugiyama (206) 684-0909
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Seattle's web site rated a ‘world leader in e-volution of democracy’
www.cityofseattle.net
SEATTLE — Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation has named the city of Seattle web site "a world leader in the e-volution of modern democracy." In an international benchmarking study conducted in 2001, the Bertelsmann Foundation surveyed 60 e-government approaches around the world and selected 12 best-practice examples. Seattle’s web site, www.cityofseattle.net, ranked second overall behind the British government web site, www.uk-online.gov.uk. The study results were released in 2002.
All web sites were rated using the specifically developed Balanced E-Government IndeX (BEGIX), which measures the performance of on-line portals in five basic categories identified as key components of good e-government: benefits, efficiency, transparency, participation and change management. The city of Seattle scored exceptionally well on the BEGIX, especially on the fields of transparency and participation.
According to the study, "Seattle’s on-line presentation is impressive because of its comprehensive and clearly structured services and information. Transparency and participation assume an important place in the e-government program. By innovatively linking TV and the Internet, Seattle was able to achieve a comparatively wide-ranging e-democracy offering."
The study also says "The city of Seattle distinguishes itself thanks to an exemplarily structured and clear portal design. The central entry portal ‘cityofseattle.net’ unites more than 50,000 web sites belonging to various authorities and offices within the city administration, as well as those provided by external institutions."
The Seattle web site’s primary purpose is to provide a 24-hour "city hall" for Seattle’s residents, allowing them to obtain vital information and initiate, if not complete, transactions required to secure city services. In addition, the site also provides citizens with information about city activities, goals, and policy objectives, and with a way to contact city staff and elected officials directly with questions, concerns or comments. The site has also been leveraged to promote economic development in the region by providing useful information to visitors, and new and existing Seattle businesses. It receives more than 7 million hits each month.
The information posted on Seattle’s web site falls within three major categories: citizen, visitor and business. The top-level pages were developed using the portal concept to deliver "one-stop shopping" for site visitors.
The Bertelsmann Foundation conducted its best-practice study "Balanced E-Government" to give direction to the e-government and e-democracy debate, offer an overview of existing e-government initiatives and provide guidelines for future projects.
The study results were published in a 21-page brochure first distributed at the Bertelsmann Foundation’s international "Balanced E-Government" conference in April 2002. The study can be found on-line at: http://www.begix.de/en/
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