Georgia Ranking Soars in Brown University's 2007 Report on State and Federal e-Government

 ATLANTA- Today Governor Sonny Perdue announced that the state of Georgia’s ranking for its “online presence” has improved dramatically since 2006.  Georgia rose 25 places nationally, according to an annual study of e-government. Brown University’s report on State and Federal E-government for 2007 placed Georgia 13th in the nation. Last year, Georgia ranked 38th in the study. The full report can be found at http://www.insidepolitics.org/egovt07us.pdf.

“The private sector has long since profited from the efficiencies of technology,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “We are proud to take full advantage of the benefits that a remarkably wired state will bring.”

Brown University evaluated an average of 30 agency web sites for each state, evaluating them on features such as online services, publications and databases; multimedia offerings; foreign-language translation and disability access; privacy and security factors; and contact information.

“Governor Perdue has set a high standard for ensuring faster, friendlier and easier access to state government services," said GTA Executive Director Patrick Moore.  "We are following his lead and, thanks to a strong team effort, making great strides in using technology to open up state government.”

Earlier this year, the National Policy Research Council ranked Georgia.gov sixth in the nation among state web sites. The Georgia Technology Authority has worked throughout the past 18 months to improve Georgia.gov, adding the following features:

• Weather information, customizable by ZIP code
• Alerts section featuring traffic conditions, pollen counts, weather advisories and Homeland Security threat levels
• Expanded list of online services
• Links to the most searched terms on Georgia.gov
• Usability enhancements to meet accessibility and PDA guidelines
• Forms section (forms.georgia.gov) with links to the most used online forms in state government
• Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds for news

GTA also worked with other state agencies to improve their websites and establish a consistent user experience online.