Agoras Friday 29th September 9.45-10.30

1.3 Delivering promises – Meeting customer’s expectations

In order to ensure provision of high quality public services we need to have a picture of customer’s needs, not only their opinions of the services already given. We have developed different tools, such as Citizen Charters, to state our intents in this field. We have also worked on more audited approaches to systematic improvement of the core aspects of customer engagement. How this approach can be used in turning around the whole performance of an organisation?

Speakers:
Eveline van der Grift, Head of the strategic unit, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, The Netherlands
Elke Löffler, Chief Executive of Governance International, Germany

Presentations:
- Presentation of Ms van der Grift
- Presentation of Ms Löffler

2.3 How to manage quality in times of cut-backs?

There is a growing demand for the services of the public sector due to demographic change and rising private incomes. At the same time public finances become more and more strained. Tough priority decisions often means cut-backs for services highly appreciated by citizens. This is the reality with which politicians and public servants have to work with. Is increasing efficiency or new sources of finance viable options ? Or do politicians and managers have to learn how to manage cut-backs in quality ?

Speakers:
Tom De Graaf, Chairman, Netherlands Institute of Government, The Netherlands
Robert Pennycook, Project Manager, British Department of Work and Pensions, United Kingdom

Presentations:
- Presentation of Mr Pennycook

3.3 Action brings satisfaction - How to make immediate corrections possible

Client service problems have to be corrected promptly and without defensiveness. If officer behind the desk doesn’t have the power of decision, s/he can’t immediately make necessary corrections to services. Customer meets inflexible bureaucracy. Client focus links our day-to-day activities to the mission of the organization and encourages us to develop and maintain the quality of our services.

Speakers:
Lena Jönsson, Director General, Verva -Swedish Administrative Development Agency, Sweden
Margus Püüa, Head of Development Department, Estonian Informatics Centre, Estonia

Presentations:
- Presentation of Ms Jönsson
- Presentation of Mr Püüa

4.3 In search of de-fragmented public services

Crosscutting initiatives and working is becoming more necessary and more common. This agora presents an international review where concepts like joined-up government and horizontal management are discussed. We also look into challenges, structural objectives, enablers and positive effects related to horizontal collaboration. One of the most intricate parts of this area is how to deal with the silos created in the vertical line between a central ministry or even the minister, through the director-general of an agency and further on to the decentralised or local levels of the agency where the value is created; often in a service encounter together with the citizen.

Speakers:
Johan Quist, Researcher, Service research center - CTF, Karlstad University, Sweden
Emilio Casals Peralta, Inspector General, Ministry of Public Administration, Spain

Presentations:
- Presentation of Mr Quist
- Presentation of Mr Casals

5.3 Sharing rather than ranking – From benchmarking to benchlearning

The idea behind benchlearning is to compare our own results or procedures to the results or procedures of another organisation. There are examples of benchmarking when only key figures have been compared and no substantial change has followed. To profit from comparing we must understand the underlying reasons for the higher and lower performances. We need to go behind the indicators and study the differences resulting in different performance. We need to focus on why the results differ.

Speakers:
Helfried Bauer, Managing Director, KDZ, Austria
Paolo Boccardelli, Professor, Luiss Management, Italy

Presentations:
- Agora 5.3 Intro
- Presentation of Mr Bauer
- Presentation of Mr Boccardelli