Rutgers SPAA Global E-Governance Survey has identified Seoul, South Korea, as the top-ranked city in terms of performance of municipal e-governance for the years 2015-16. The survey evaluated the performance of websites of municipalities worldwide for privacy and security, usability, content, services, and citizen and social engagement, and ranked the cities on a global scale. The research study was conducted jointly by the E-Governance Institute in the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University-Newark and the Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs, John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and was co-sponsored by the Public Technology Institute (PTI). Seoul retains its top ranking in municipal e-governance, having done so in the previous six surveys conducted since 2003. The city also ranked first in the categories of content, services, and citizen and social engagement. Seoul provides technologies for citizens to communicate suggestions and participate in the policy process, along with enabling public administrators and elected officials to respond directly to citizens. The website also continues to act as a leading example of privacy protection and Internet security. Helsinki was ranked 2nd in the survey, rising significantly from #16 in the previous 2013-14 survey. The home page of the Helsinki website is user-friendly, interactive, and enables citizen engagement with public officials through social media platforms. The continued study of municipalities worldwide will further provide insights into the direction of e-governance and the performance of e-governance throughout the regions of the world. According to Dr. Marc Holzer, “The E-Governance Performance Index used for the survey is a set of benchmarks that spotlight high levels of performance throughout the world and foster high expectations for improved web-based municipal service delivery.” Source: https://www.newark.rutgers.edu/