Oregon PSU Research: Insights for Public Sector Leaders

In partnership with the E-Government Program to the Oregon Electronic Government Portal Advisory Board and Tyler Technologies, the Center for Public Service at Portland State University (PSU) conducted a multi-year study, completed in 2025, examining how residents — specifically — experience the State of Oregon’s online services.

While the study is specific to Oregon, the insights gathered can inform broader national trends in service design and digital equity strategies. Today’s residents expect online government services and resources, and mobile resources are becoming more critical to ensure accessibility and quality service delivery. PSU’s study reflects this: 43% of survey respondents indicated that they prefer smartphones over computers to complete tasks online.

But modernizing state government services is not only about updating platforms and streamlining services: it must be done with intention, keeping accessibility, equity, and user experience top of mind.

Understanding Barriers to Access

Through PSU’s study, many participants from underrepresented demographics reported challenges in accessing and using state online services, due to digital literacy gaps, language and cultural barriers, or technology constraints. While 98% of Oregonians surveyed reported having access to the internet, respondents with lower income, individuals speaking English as a second language, respondents who reported discomfort with technology, and individuals with disabilities reported still facing barriers to access.

States can address these gaps by embedding digital equity frameworks into online service design — prioritizing mobile access, including explainer or how-to videos, revising user flows for lower literacy audiences, providing multilingual support, and adding additional translation capability for non-text communications, such as chat and video.

However, these frameworks alone are not enough. States must ensure that site visitors, particularly those who experience barriers to access, can and do leverage available resources that would make navigation more accessible.

Indiana’s Access Indiana demonstrates this approach by providing a single, secure login to over 100 state and local government services for more than 2.7 million users, streamlining access and improving usability.

Building Trust Through Digital Service Delivery

Access is only one facet of quality digital service delivery. Security and transparency are equally critical to building trust.

Increasing continuity across agency websites reduces confusion and strengthens trust with residents. Beyond a similar look and feel across agency sites, states can also ensure important resources are available in the same location across all agencies and entities, and take steps to make sure residents can access the information or services they need easily, regardless of which agency site they are navigating.

Making an online chat function available across all state webpages, rather than only available to specific sites, is one strategy that could help facilitate this. Nebraska’s implementation of Tyler’s Resident AI Assistant illustrates this in practice. Offering support in 50 languages and making it easier for users to find the information they are looking for, the Resident AI Assistant not only enables a better experience for customers, it also streamlines operations for staff, fielding 1,000 inquiries daily and reducing call volume by 20%.

Modernizing With — Not Just for — Communities

Modernizing with intention — fostering collaboration with other departments, agencies and organizations to better serve all residents — can also boost resident satisfaction and enhance overall engagement, according to the PSU study.

Study respondents frequently reported helping others, being helped by others, or reaching out to organizations that interface with the community when seeking assistance and services. Collaboration across agencies and with community organizations can offer insights that help improve the user experience as well as amplify outreach and training efforts — especially in communities less familiar with digital government services.

Mississippi’s Access to Maternal Assistance (MAMA) website reflects this model. Built using Tyler’s Resident Engagement Platform, the site connects pregnant women and mothers to public and private resources from across the state and garnered 26,700 views and a 63% engagement rate within the first three months of launch.

Meeting Residents Where They Are

Effective modernization goes beyond design, copy, or user experience — it requires meeting residents where they are, both with regard to digital channels and specific needs.

In PSU’s study, positive user experiences were often tied to services with clear and simple navigation as well as those offering a choice in how to interact (digital or non-digital). Services built with inclusive design principles produced higher satisfaction among users.

The Oregon Judicial Department provides an example: with Tyler’s Enterprise Justice solution, the department launched a web-based platform that helps self-represented litigants navigate complex court processes. With ease of access to essential court documents and using plain-language questions, the platform enables litigants to fill out forms correctly on their own.

The study’s findings are clear: ensuring intuitive navigation and offering multiple ways to engage with resources and services (e.g., desktop vs. mobile, digital vs. in-person, multi-channel) ensures broader access and better outcomes.

Looking to the Future

Listening to resident experiences is essential to shaping the future of digital government services.

When asked about additional online resources the State of Oregon could offer, study participants indicated that web or phone applications, followed by automated online chat and self-service terminals, are most preferred. Based on the study’s findings, looking to the future, chat, audio options, and more accessible long-form content are additional resident-led ways to improve the digital government experience.

By placing residents at the center of the digital government experience, states can more effectively balance efficiency with equity — delivering more inclusive, trusted, and user-friendly experiences.

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