A recent study came out this week from the Human Capital Institute and Saba about government organizations’ use of social networking and collaboration tools. The study looked at the effectiveness of social networking in conducting government work, how agency type affects the use, and perception of social networking, and the future expectations and barriers for its use.

"This study looks at the challenges and opportunities faced by government agencies, particularly at a time when private enterprise is adopting multiple forms of social networking to help them retain talent, improve service, and meet competitive challenges," said Mike DeMarco, HCI’s Senior Research Analyst. "We were pleased to see that sixty-six percent of government workplaces surveyed reported using at least one social networking tool."

66% of all government agencies currently use some form of social networking – from blogs and wikis to instant messaging and discussion boards, according to the study. 31% of those surveyed have embraced social media as a means of providing a more efficient customer feedback channel.

Other highlights from the study include:

– Federal agencies (defense and non-defense) lead in using social networking tools for project planning and collaboration— while state government agencies lag.

–  Fifty-five percent of government workers are uncertain about the future use of social networking tools.
 
– Security restrictions — chiefly concerns about the loss of confidential information — are the largest barrier to future implementation of social networking tools within governments.

"Real-time collaboration and social networking technologies are rapidly migrating from consumers to both enterprises and government agencies," said Saba Chairman and CEO Bobby Yazdani.

The entire study can be read here.

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