Building Trust in Public Institutions: Insights and Strategies
Public trust in government institutions is declining in many OECD countries. Existing measures of trust often reflect leadership approval. Satisfaction with public services plays a crucial role in fostering trust. Investing in trust involves focusing on governance drivers and actions that enhance trustworthiness and accountability.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
TRUST AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS : DELIVERING OUTCOMES THAT MATTER TO PEOPLE Edwin Lau, Head of Reform of Public Sector Division OECD Public Governance & Territorial Development Directorate IPAA | Better Understanding the Drivers of Public Trust | 23 June
Trust in the government remains low and decreasing in many OECD countries Confidence in national government in 2015 and its change since 2007, % % % in 2015 (right axis) Percentage points change since 2007 (left axis) 100 100 80 80 75 69 60 60 63 63 58 59 58 58 57 56 54 52 4850 40 40 4644 45 46 46 43.741 44 40 40 38 35 34 34 33 31 30 28 28 28 20 20 26 26 23 23 21 20 0 0 -20 -20 -40 -40 LUX OECD NLD USA ZAF DEU ISL ISR AUS CAN AUT PRT MEX COL LVA NOR SVK GRC EST BEL FIN ESP SVN CZE NZL CRI CHE IRL HUN DNK TUR CHL FRA ITA SWE JPN GBR KOR POL LTU Source: Gallup World Poll
However, existing measures of trust reflect mainly leadership approval Correlation between confidence in national government and approval of government leadership, 2014 90.0 CHE 80.0 NOR R = 0.8125 LUX DEU 70.0 NZL NLD DNK 60.0 SWE TUR Approval of country leadership FIN CAN JPN 50.0 ISR BEL AUT GBR KOR MEX OECD 40.0 AUS ISL IRL POL ITA USA EST CHL SVK SVNESP 30.0 PRT CZE HUN FRA 20.0 GRC 10.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 Confidence in national government Source: World Gallup Poll.
Satisfaction with public services matters for trust in public institutions Correlation between self-reported satisfaction with local services and self- reported confidence in local authorities in OECD-EU countries, 2008-2015 80% R =0.75 (OECD-EU) DNK Confidence in local authorities 70% LUX FIN AUT SWE DEU ISL 60% BEL NLD EST FRA HUN 50% CZE GBR SVK POL PRT 40% TUR SVN IRL 30% ESP GRC ITA 20% 10% 0% 50% 55% 60% 65% 70% 75% 80% 85% Satisfaction with local public services Source: OECD
Investing in Trust: analytical framework Narrowed scope: public institutions and citizens Action oriented: trustworthiness Decomposed into governance drivers: 1st: start from government mandate (e.g. Anticipate change, protect citizens, Use power and public resources ethically ) 2nd: map concern affecting trust (e.g. uncertainty management, corruption) 3rd: identify expected behaviour (e.g. Governments identifies medium and long term risks and challenges and acts in consequence; There are consequences for corruption - political, civil and criminal)
Towards Actionable Policy Insights: Deconstructing Citizen s Trust in Government OECD Trust Framework: Deconstructing Citizens Trust in Public Institutions Source: OECD - GOV/PGC(2015)17
Drivers of satisfaction with public services OECD SERVING CITIZENS FRAMEWORK (Government at a Glance 2015) OECD TRUST FRAMEWORK RESPONSIVENESS Citizen centered approach Special needs Timeliness RESPONSIVENESS RELIABILITY QUALITY Effective delivery Consistency delivery/outcomes Security INTEGRITY OPENESS ACCESS Affordability Geographic proximity Access information FAIRNESS
Expectations regarding trustworthiness of public institutions Do you agree with the following statements: Responsiveness Public institutions deliver public services in the best possible way competence Reliability Public institutions pursuit long term objectives Public institutions behave according to ethical standards aimed at avoiding corruption Integrity Public institutions are transparent Openness values Public institutions treat all citizens fairly regardless of their gender, race, age or economic condition equally Fairness
Experiences of public service delivery In the past 12 months, have you personally received a public service ? Trust Satisfaction with services ACCESS RESPONSIVENESS Citizen centered approach (courtesy, treatment and integrated services) QUALITY Contextual factors: Effective delivery of services and outcomes Affordability Socio-economic context Historic context Consistency in service delivery and outcomes Political context Match of services to special needs Geographic proximity Media Accessibility of information Timeliness Security (safety) Source: Adapted from Government at a Glance 2015
A situational approach to measuring institutional trust Rosenberg question: Generally speaking would you say that most people can be trusted or that you need to be really careful in dealing with people? Wallet question: In the city or area where you live, imagine you lost your wallet or something holding your identification or address and it was found by someone else. Do you think your wallet (or your valuables) would be returned to you if it were found by someone else? Do you think your wallet (or your valuables) would be returned to you if it were found by a neighbour/the police/stranger?
Extending the Situational Approach: Looking for actionable insights How do (citizens) think their government would behave under a given specific circumstance(s)? ordo you trust your government to do X if Y happens? Questions Components Dimensions Government identifies medium and long term risks and challenges and acts in consequence Reliability: the ability of governments to minimize uncertainty in the economic, social and political environment facing people, and to act in a consistent and predictable manner in responding to this uncertainty; If an alert due to the appearance of a new disease is raised, do you think existing public health plans would be effective? Government exhibits consistent and predictable behaviour If you start a business today do you think that the conditions under which you operate (taxes, regulations, etc.) will remain reasonably stable? Government mandate Concern affecting trust If a natural disaster occurs do you think that the provision of food, shelter and clothing will be available?
Testing the OECD Trust Framework: A country example Subjects and time period Population: All general citizens over 20 year old Sampling size (number of respondents): 3,000 people Time period: January 20th February 22nd, 2016 Sampling design and sampling Sampling frame: 2010 Census Sampling method: Stratified random sampling Stratification criteria: Region; gender; age Data collection method: Face to face interview using structured questionnaire
Positive perception of competence and values positively correlated with Trust How much confidence do you have in public institutions to 0- No confidence at all, 10-full confidence 0- no trust at all, 10-I trust very much
Looking forward Improving public services can play an important role in strengthening trust in government (connection services performance, satisfaction, and trust) This approach provides an anchor for sustained, tangible government efforts that citizens are able to value and asses, independent of broader dynamics But, link between service quality and trust is complementary to broader observations of trust in government, including at the macro-level and at the meso-level => these dimensions interact and may reinforce each other Access, responsiveness, and quality are key drivers in improving citizens satisfaction with services and, consequently, trust. This is a matter of both competence and values. Better understanding citizen s needs, experience and preferences can result in better targeted, more tailored services, including for underserved populations. The increasing focus on outcomes, in part driven by productivity concerns, can help drive innovative solutions in service provision, including through improving joined-up delivery across silos
THANKS Edwin.lau@oecd.org
