Public Services and the User Perspective (NL0016)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Netherlands Action Plan 2013-2014
Action Plan Cycle: 2013
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and Association of Netherlands Municipalities
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
IRM Review
IRM Report: Netherlands Final Report 2013-2014, Netherlands Progress Report 2013-2014
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: No
Relevant to OGP Values: No
Ambition (see definition): Low
Implementation i
Description
The quality of their contact with public-sector organisations matters to citizens. If they believe they are being listened to and given the appropriate attention, an effective connection will be formed between the individual and the system (government bureaucracy). Organisations that perform public tasks also benefit from this contact. As users of their services, citizens have a lot of experience and can provide good suggestions for improvement. Openness and transparency are prerequisites for collaboration between public-sector organisations, and citizens and businesses.
A special centre, Kenniscentrum Dienstverlening (known by the acronym ‘KING’), helps local authorities focus more on the user perspective in providing services, including online and integrated services. The centre organises learning events, runs a website and provides practical help at the request of local authorities.
As part of its Online 2017 process, the Government is also working on accessible online services, with a particular focus on the user perspective: if people are not sufficiently computer-literate, they should be given help; processes should be user-friendly and a safety net should always be in place for those who need it.
Since many public-sector service providers are engaged in activities designed to make people more computer-literate, it is important that their experiences be catalogued and shared with others, so their efforts have the maximum possible effect. A study is therefore being conducted to establish what initiatives are most effective and efficient, and how they can be introduced more widely.
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