Enhance Customer Engagement (IE0038)

To ensure that the delivery of public services is focused on the needs of the customer, including those with diverse needs. Objective: Build on long-standing efforts to provide quality public services, focusing on actions that build capacity and help to create a culture of openness and responsiveness to the customer. Status quo: Customer engagement efforts fall within the broader idea of Citizen Engagement and democratic reforms that include public participation, public involvement, participatory democracy, deliberative democracy, and collaborative governance, which all recognise and build upon the idea that citizens should have a say in the decisions that affect their lives1 . Improving in how the Public Service engages with its customers, and improving service design and delivery, is a core part of the Public Service Reform Programme. Existing initiatives include: The Quality Customer Service (QCS) Officers Network - Customer Charters and Customer Action Plans - Surveys of Civil Service Customers - Developing ‘Universal Design for Customer Engagement’ toolkits - Promoting the use of Plain Language The consultation process to create this action plan identified the need to promote knowledge of these initiatives across public sector bodies and to ensure that the design of services takes account of customers with diverse needs. A review of citizens’ complaints procedures undertaken as part of Ireland’s first OGP National Action Plan 2014-2016 and a Review of Customer Charters and Customer Service Action Plans in the Civil Service under the Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016 set out the progress that has been made in the area of customer engagement and identified steps for further progress. The development of a new Public Service Reform Plan for the period 2017-2019 is underway. This will continue the focus on improving customer service. Transposing the recent EU Directive on the Accessibility of Public Sector Bodies Websites will help address digital exclusion. Ambition: To ensure that public services are designed and delivered in ways that focus on providing value to the customer or user of those services by making customer engagement integral to the design and delivery of those services. The milestones to fulfil this commitment, set out below, will enhance the capacity to evaluate and report on longstanding initiatives to improve customer experiences. Timeline: January 2017 to June 2018.
Commitment 5: Enhance Customer Engagement OGP values Civic participation, Public accountability New or ongoing commitment New Lead implementation organisations Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Department of Justice and Equality Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Centre for Excellence in Universal Design OGCIO Other actors involved - government All government departments and public bodies Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date Enhance reporting on progress made in meeting standards and commitments in Customer Charters and provide reports in open data formats. We will similarly report on efforts to: - Promote the use of plain language - Promote universal design -Address Digital Exclusion - Comply with the Public Sector Duty under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 New January 2017 June 2018 Design and introduce structured reporting on responses to any issues identified in surveys of Civil Service customers and provide reports in open data formats. New January 2017 June 2018 20 Encourage public bodies to engage with their customers in the development, delivery and review of services. New January 2017 June 2018 Provide training in Customer Service and Communication Skills to improve the quality and consistency of customer engagement across the Civil Service Ongoing June 2018

For commitment details, see https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Ireland_End-Term_...