EIA

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EIAs Vision of a Customer-Driven System of Access
On-line or off the shelf, EIA is the first place
to go for the last word in energy information.
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Goals

• Maintain a comprehensive data and information
  program on energy resources and reserves, energy
  production, energy demand, energy technologies,
  and related financial and statistical information
  relevant to the adequacy of energy resources to
  meet the Nations demands in the near- and
  longer-term future.
• Develop and maintain analytical tools and
  collection and processing systems providing
  analyses that are accurate, timely, and
  objective and provide information dissemination
  services.
• Take advantage of the newer, electronic
  technologies.

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Customer Focus

• Use focus group reviews of the EIA analysis
  agenda once per year with representatives from
  Congress, the States, Federal Government and
  industry
• Analyze feedback from Web, telephone, print, and
  e-mail customers.
• Use cognitive analyses of survey forms and the
  Web site.

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Strategy

• We will use electronic technologies to make EIA
  information accessible to a wide variety of
  technologically diverse users at the lowest
  possible cost to the taxpayers and the users.
• We will continue traditional dissemination
  services as customers require answer the
  telephone and e-mail and print key titles, short
  summaries, and specialized materials.
• We will continuously innovate using the newest
  electronic technologies and techniques.

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Internet Servers

• Advantages
• Distribution is almost instantaneous.
• 40 million users connected.
• Customer base is growing rapidly.
• Fairly low marginal cost.

• Disadvantages
• Requires users to be fairly high tech but this is
  changing rapidly over time.
• Moving large amounts of data is time consuming.
• Can get slowed down during peak hours.

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Compact Disc

• Advantages
• Reaches a fairly broad customer group - there are
  millions of CD readers in use.
• Libraries are very enthusiastic.
• Low cost
• Holds large volumes of data.
• Easy to search.

• Disadvantages
• Relies on the mail system.
• Will not reach low tech users outside of the
  library system.

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Listserve (e-mail)

• Advantages
• Very low marginal cost
• Provide interested readers with short reports
  very quickly.
• Allows only those customers who are interested to
  belong.

• Disadvantages
• Can only be effectively used to send out one to
  two pages of information.

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Database Query System

• Advantages
• Meets specific customer needs while minimizing
  their costs.
• Does not require the downloading and installation
  of large software packages.
• Cost of using existing (Microsoft Access )
  applications very small.

• Disadvantages
• Development of new applications can be expensive.
• Somewhat higher marginal costs than some of the
  other technologies.

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Existing Paper Publications

• Clearly we will continue to produce our more
  popular paper publications which serve the most
  low tech users.
• We are studying the cost implications of limiting
  the availability of some existing, low use
  publications to electronic or print-on-demand
  formats. This will reduce printing costs.

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Accomplishments

• In 1998, EIA distributed 12.2 million files
  consisting of 520 gigabytes of data to 2.5
  million users of our Web site.
• The EIA Listserve, a Web service that is unique
  among Federal statistical agencies, delivered
  about 1.5 million messages containing data and
  notification services in 1998.
• The EIA Database Query System, a Web technology
  used by only a few Federal statistical agencies,
  delivers data in a variety of formats from which
  users can choose. In 1998, 80,000 customers used
  this system to meet their data needs.
• The Energy InfoDisc is a quarterly compendium of
  all EIA reports, primarily in portable document
  format, published on compact disc. Major
  features include an interface to the EIA Web site
  for users with Web browsers, plus a powerful
  search engine. The publication is heavily used
  by the library community.

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Accomplishments

• EIAs information center is handling an
  increasing number of e-mail requests for
  information (the number has doubled from 1998 to
  1999) and telephone requests for Web search
  support. Nearly 40 of inquiries are for both
  information and Web assistance.
• EIA has published extremely popular short
  descriptions of data and analysis results and
  other specialized materials, including the
  Energy InfoCard, a pocket reference to the latest
  key energy statistics primers on greenhouse gas
  emissions and electric power restructuring a
  profile of the energy world on the 25th
  anniversary of the 1973 oil embargo a summary of
  the impacts of the Kyoto Protocol country-by
  country energy profiles, called Country Analysis
  Briefs and profiles of energy in the Americas
  and energy in Africa.

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Conclusions

• Using newer technologies in a appropriate manner
  will allow us to provide data and analysis in a
  more timely and usable fashion at a lower cost to
  the taxpayer.

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Future Plans

• Improve Web site navigation through periodic
  cognitive and usability studies and redesigns.
• Redesign the database query system changing the
  focus from a comprehensive system to a system
  designed around EIA's most popular data. This
  redesign is based on customer feedback.
• Improve Web site search capability through a
  registry, virtual library and the use of newer
  search technologies.
• Expand the educational content by expanding and
  building on EIA's "kids page" and reaching out
  to other parts of the education community.
• Over time, transform the Web site into an
  information-centric (rather than a
  publication-centric) information source for the
  average user.

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Background

• EIA Experience to Date

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