This is what the public wants from services
6 May 2014 04:24 PM
Public service providers should
focus on outcomes and respect, says Collaborate's Henry Kippin, assessing
new research (Plus responses from JRF's Julia Unwin and Greg Partson of Imperial
College).
It is now manifesto development
season and you can bet that each of the major parties will soon present an
account of how public services will need to change. They will include elements
of greater choice, promises of further devolution, new and ingenious schemes to
improve efficiency and leverage productive capacity, plus ways to address the
shortcomings of flagship policies in the spheres of health, welfare, education
and criminal justice.
Yet one consequence of a debate
hitherto dominated by the numbers, is that no-one has really asked the public
what they think.
This is the gap that my organisation Collaborate and Ipsos
MORI seek to fill in a new report published this month. We asked citizens about
their wants, needs and expectations of public services. We asked them about the
principles upon which public service providers should be held to account, and
whether they felt that these were being respected.
We also asked the public
about the issues they face in their daily lives – such as housing, jobs
and living standards – and the responsibility of government and others in
the economy to act for them.
The results pose a stark
challenge to government and providers across the spectrum. So what did we
find?
Firstly, the survey shows that
citizens are strongly attached to the idea of collective social goods. One in
three surveyed identified public services as ‘a service that is important
to the whole community’, and ‘available for everyone to use'.
Secondly, the survey shows that
the public hold government responsible for supporting them at key stages in
their lives. Around 75 per cent of respondents felt that government has some
responsibility to keep living standards manageable, help secure them a decent
place to live and provide support with jobs and careers. Those at the bottom
end of the socio economic spectrum feel this most strongly. Yet these are areas
in which government is only one actor in a complex market. Collaboration across
the sectors will be increasingly vital, with government playing a convening
role that goes beyond the delivery of traditional public services.
As cuts,
conditionality and targeted spending change the shape of the core service, we
must ask fundamental questions about how we work differently to support
livelihoods and build our collective social capacity to manage future demand.
Desire to be treated
well
Third, survey data suggests that
the public want to be treated well: with dignity, respect, competence and
understanding. When asked ‘what do you think are the most important for
organisations delivering public services to focus on’, citizens cited
‘understanding people’s needs' ‘treating the public with
dignity and respect’, and ‘delivering the outcomes that
matter’, in that order.
A huge majority (79 per cent) felt that
treating the public with respect is as important as the outcome being
delivered.
Yet only 24 per cent felt that providers ‘always’ or
‘often’ understand their needs. Against markers of engagement and
co-production, providers fall short, with only 16 per cent feeling they get a
personalised service or have their preferences (and not only their needs)
understood.
Yet only 24 per cent felt that providers ‘always’ or
‘often’ understand their needs. Against markers of engagement and
co-production, providers fall short, with only 16 per cent feeling they get a
personalised service or have their preferences (and not only their needs)
understood.
Fourth, we might surmise that
the collaborative citizen is alive and well, but policy-makers and public
service providers struggle to engage him or her. Our survey shows that over 30
percent of citizens would be willing to spend time with public service
providers to improve the service they deliver: a significant number when set
against the whole population.
However, only 14 per cent of respondents
currently felt involved in shaping public services with providers, which leaves
significant room for improvement. Across the board, public services need to get
better at engaging, enrolling and inspiring the public.
The public have spoken, but what
happens next? If we want public services of the future to be designed and
delivered in partnership with citizens, then we clearly have a long journey
ahead to make that happen.
More money will not solve the problem, even if we
could afford it and the Local Government Association’s prediction of a
£14.4bn expenditure gap for local government by 2020 strongly suggests
that we can’t.
What should policy-makers focus
on?
So what should the policy-makers
compiling those manifestos be focusing on? Improving the role and voice of
citizens in public service design must be the starting point.
We need more
integrated local commissioning designed with communities; clearer user-feedback
mechanisms in public contracts; financial accountability linked to broader
social and community value; and a new politics of welfare that makes the case
for long-term social investment over short-term, conditionality-based savings.
Much of this should be done at a local level because trust in government is
higher, the distance between communities and government is smaller and the
limits of a top-down delivery approach are clear.
It is not enough for future
players in public service markets, such as the voluntary sector and private
businesses, to prove delivery competence, financial integrity and appetite for
risk. Those who have put private profit or producer interest over public
purpose must change. The public sector contracts and relationships that have
enabled them to do
this are clearly no longer fit for purpose. Getting this
right for citizens should be at the top of the list for whom ever forms the
next government.
In
summary
- 79% agree that treating people
with highest categories by dignity and respect is as important as the final
outcome of the service
- 45% think organisations
delivering public services should focus on understanding people’s
needs
- 50% say providers hardly ever or
never involve them in decisions about how they use the
service
- 32% would be willing to spend at
least a few hours a month helping to improve public services
- 45% think organisations
delivering public services should focus on understanding people’s
needs
Click here to read the
full report.
Read the responses from John
Myatt, Julia Unwin and Greg Parston here.