In our last blog entry we discussed how Accenture’s research in government service delivery revealed that service excellence and a greater impact on societal outcomes can be achieved when services are constructed and delivered in a way that makes the most sense for the citizen—irrespective
of agency boundaries, in the manner of citizens’ own choosing and with the backing of considerable communication and readily available support. We said that we would expand on the results of the 2008 study in more detail.

In this year’s Leadership in Customer Service research – conducted in 21 countries in 2008 – Accenture found that citizens in most countries are highly critical of the extent to which government seeks their opinions. In 15 of the 21 countries we surveyed, less than a third of respondents thought their governments did a good job of seeking the opinions of its citizens.

Only in three countries – Canada, Singapore and Ireland – did more than 50 percent of respondents rate their government as “doing a good job in delivering a better quality of life for themselves and their families.”

In fact, our research showed Canada to be one of the more high-performing governments when it comes to understanding that stakeholders are more than just “customers.” In fact, Canadian citizens were more likely to have positive attitudes about the job their government is doing in building trust in seven of the eight areas we surveyed, including

• Government being accountable for what it achieves
• Informing citizens about policies and services
• Targeting resources to people who need them
• Providing equal access to government services for all citizens
• Seeking the opinions of its citizens
• Tailoring services to meet individual needs, and
• Delivering a better quality of life overall

“Providing equal access to government services for all citizens” topped this list – citizens were three times more likely to express positive opinions (60 percent positive versus 20 percent negative) – followed by “government delivering a better quality of life,” where citizens were two-and-a-half times more likely to feel positive (53 percent) than negative (21 percent).

The only area where Canadian citizens were more likely to feel negative about the job the government is doing is in its openness and transparency in making policy decisions. In this area, only 36 percent of Canadians had a positive attitude, while 43 percent had a negative attitude. It is becoming clearer than ever that Canadians want to talk to their governments – to explain to politicians and policy makers what they want and need, and to know that their government is listening and responding.

In the next weeks I’ll discuss how government can share responsibility for outcomes with their citizens, build more productive relationships between citizens and governments, and bridge the gap between expectations and reality.

Tags: Governance, Outcomes, Service delivery