Agency sites score well in survey

Citizens gave federal Web sites better performance scores than offline government functions, but slightly worse scores than the national average on a general-purpose customer satisfaction index.

The new quarterly survey encompassed 22 federal Web sites that use the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) developed by the University of Michigan.

On a 100-point scale, the first E-Government Satisfaction Index came in at 70.9, according to the survey sponsors. Offline government agencies scored an average of 70.2. The national customer-satisfaction index for all providers of goods and services is 73.8.

The list of surveyed sites includes the FirstGov portal, four State Department sites, the Treasury Department's main Web site and the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs AmeriCorps and two other volunteer programs.

The highest-scoring federal site on the ASCI index was for www.4women.gov, run by the Health and Human Services Department. The National Women's Health Information Center site received a satisfaction ranking of 83.