From Single Windows to Integrated Service Delivery: A Canadian Perspective Presentation to: International Seminar SAC Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Institute for Citizen-Centred Service Charles Vincent - September 21, 2005

Presentation Overview Collaborative Service Improvement in Canada: The Institute for Citizen-Centred Service Access to Public Services: From Single Windows to Integrated Service Delivery Improving Service Quality: The Drivers of Client Satisfaction Why is all this so important? Service Quality and Confidence in Government

ICCS Mission and Mandate To promote high levels of citizen satisfaction with public-sector service delivery. Platform for Horizontal Initiatives Institute for Citizen-Centred Service Research Common Measurements Tool Knowledge Management

Collaboration = Success The ICCS is a collaborative venture: Government of Canada; Provinces & Territories; Municipalities; Institute of Public Administration of Canada Public Sector Service Delivery Council; Public Sector CIO Council.

Listening to Citizens: Canada’s Citizens First Surveys Citizens First surveys of 6,000-10,000 citizens are conducted by ICCS every two years; CF is a collaborative project of the federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments across Canada; CF measures citizens’ service needs and expectations; CF tracks citizen satisfaction with over 80 government services; CF identifies citizens’ priorities for service improvement, and therefore the forward agenda for government action on service improvement.

The Citizens First Service Model

Comparative Service Improvement Strategies Single Window Focus on Access Australia Canada Most Jurisdictions United Kingdom Service Quality Focus Source: Marson, Queen’s University

Citizens’ Views on Access “I feel confident I can readily access any government service I need” “Knowing where to start is the biggest challenge in getting government service” Source: Citizens First

Single-Windows: A Runaway Hit in Canada Service Canada Service New Brunswick Access PEI Service Nova Scotia Services Québec Service Ontario Service B.C. Service Manitoba Service Alberta…

The Value of Single-Window Service Delivery Citizens want government services that are as accessible, convenient, and seamless as possible… the essence of the single-window approach is the bringing together of government services, or information about them, in order to reduce the amount of time and effort citizens must expend to find and obtain the services they need. Bent, Kernaghan, and Marson (1999)

Single-Window Service Delivery: Three Main Types “Information Gateways” Improving accessibility through single-window information and referral. “One-Stop Department Stores” Improving convenience and accessibility to a wide range of government services. “Seamless Service Boutiques” Single-window access to a related cluster of services, including across jurisdictional lines.

Single Window Examples in Canada Information Gateways: 1-800-O-Canada Achieves comparable performance scores to private sector Toronto 211 Service Department Stores: Service New Brunswick Model being replicated in Suffolk County (UK) British Columbia Government Agents Service Boutiques: The Business Link Business Service Centre HealthyOntario.com Received 2004 Webby award

From Single Window to Integrated Service Single windows are services that are GROUPED together; Integrated Service Delivery refers to services that FIT together. Michelle D’Auray as quoted by Ken Kernaghan

Multi-Channel Service Delivery The move toward integrated service delivery is being motivated by the multi-channel nature of service… Sources: Citizens First 3 / Taking Care of Business

Inter-jurisdictional Service Delivery … and by the increasing number of inter-jurisdictional service experiences Sources: Taking Care of Business

Integrated Service Delivery in Canada : A Model Service Integration Channel Integration Seamless Services Integrated access to related information, referral and services across jurisdictional lines Integrated Channel Management One Stop Shops Convenience and access to wide range of related and unrelated services Independent Channels Organizational Integration Corporate Service Utility Delegated Delivery Co-location Source: Marson, Treasury Board of Canada

Integrated Service Delivery: Beyond the Single Window eContact Information management / search engine that cuts across channels and jurisdictions. Facing challenges of shared governance and shared sustainable funding. Will require common information management standards. BizPal Integrated permitting and licensing application. Leading to business process integration across levels of government. Will face similar governance and funding challenges. Integrated Inspections and Enforcement Inspectors across the Ontario Public Service now share a common set of processes and tools, enabling them to assess all aspects of a site in a single visit rather than sending multiple inspectors on a series of visits.

Some Keys to Success Putting the Structures in Place “Bubble gum and good will” needs to be supported by a business plan and governance structure Learning to Hear and be Heard Be clear about your needs while staying as flexible as possible Managing as Partners Project managers need a strong relationship of mutual trust Leading with Vision Senior champions who will remove barriers

Benefits of Integrated Services - The Canadian Experience for citizens: Accessibility – services are easier to find Timeliness Convenience Customization to individual needs Improved outcomes for governments: Lower costs of operation Introduction of innovation Improved program outcomes, Improved visibility, and Increased public trust and confidence

Access Remains a Significant Problem “I appreciate 1-800 O Canada – one access number to call to get in touch with the right government service. I also like to use websites for 24/7 access to government services.” One of the reasons we want to spend time on access issues is that access continues to be a significant problem. We will see later that service quality ratings have improved since 1998. Unfortunately there is no measurable improvement in access. This is not to say that nothing has been done. Many jurisdictions have initiated projects to address access problems. And some citizens have noticed since many of these initiatives appear in the written comments from the survey. Nevertheless, the actual numbers have not moved. Q. I can readily access any government service that I need?

Access is a Priority Citizens First 3 suggests that ACCESS remains a significant concern for citizens. In particular, access over the TELEPHONE poses many challenges to citizens seeking public services Can’t find the right number, Busy phone lines; Bounced around, IVR systems that confuse. At the root of much of the dissatisfaction is a concern over the TIMELINESS of service – #1 driver.

The Citizens First Service Model

Expectations are Rising Canadians recognize that the government’s task is more difficult… … Yet they still expect service quality to be as good or better than the private sector Q. Governments have a more difficult task than the private sector – they must protect the public interest as well as meet the needs of citizens? Q. What quality of service should you get from government, compared to the private sector?

Focusing on the Drivers of Satisfaction Timeliness Knowledge Fairness Extra Mile / Courtesy Outcome Citizens who get good service on all 5 drivers rate SQ at 89 out of 100 If a citizen gives a good rating on all five of these drivers (4 or 5 out of five), the service quality rating is 89/100. However, as this slide shows, if the number of drivers rated good declines, say to 4 of the 5, the overall service quality rating drops from 89 to 76/ 100! More strikingly, those who rate all five drivers poor rate service quality at 22/100! We also know from our research on drivers that timeliness is the most important driver – it has a stronger effect on service quality ratings than any of the others and it receives the lowest performance score.

Drivers of Satisfaction We have a better understanding of what drives satisfaction Internet In-Person / Phone Timeliness Knowledge / Competence Extra Mile / Extra Smile Fairness Outcome Easy to Find Service Outcome Visual Appeal Complete Information Results used to inform Common Measurements Tool

Timeliness: the Driver that Most Needs Improvement

Canada’s Improving Service Reputation The results from Citizens First demonstrate that service quality ratings can be improved.

Improvement in a Service Environment The results of individual services such as Canada Post (posted mail delivery) are also improving. 5.7 6.2 6.6 1998 2000 2002 7.0 6.0 5.0 2005

Improvement in a Regulatory Environment The results of the Canada Revenue Agency (taxation) demonstrate that service quality ratings can be improved in a regulatory environment too. 6.2 5.5 5.7 5.9 1998 2000 2002 6.0 5.0 2005

The Common Measurements Tool A multi-channel instrument for designing client satisfaction surveys; Designed by public servants, for public servants; Enables organizations to benchmark results; Being used across Canada and in a growing number of other countries. 1999 Gold Award 2000 Silver Award

“Core” CMT Questions ESD Core Questions Core questions are important for benchmarking Questions are aligned with the drivers of satisfaction Some cross-channel and some unique to channel ESD Core Questions Overall Satisfaction* Navigation Timeliness* Visual Appeal Accessibility* Information Communication* Privacy Outcome* * Common to all channels

CMT Benchmarking Database Central database for storing CMT data has been built; Ability to anonymously compare results against peer organizations; ICCS uses the database to search for trends, identify good practices, and contribute knowledge.

The Next Frontier? Public Sector Service-Value Chain • James Heskett • Citizens First - 3 • Telus • Communication • Sears Canada • SQM Group • ACSI 2002 Employee Satisfaction,& Commitment Client Satisfaction Confidence & Trust in Public Institutions Drivers: Drivers: Drivers: • Timeliness • Service • To be documented through research • Competence • Courtesy • Others to be • Fairness discovered and documented • Outcome ©Heintzman & Marson 2003

Why is all this so important? Research in Canada highlights that there is a direct and measurable link between the quality of public sector service delivery and confidence in the public service. Overall Government Performance Rating Service Quality Depending on you audience, you can use the Confidence in Government slides at the beginning or the end of the presentation (or not at all). We prefer to use them at the beginning as they provide a strong argument for why service quality is important and why the rest of the material is so valuable. This slide is not from Citizens First 3, but from Communications Canada (CC). It was one of the findings that prompted us to look at the link between service quality and confidence in government since CC was not able to demonstrate either the strength of the relationship, or the direction of influence. This is also a good slide to point out that Citizens First 3 is focused on issues of service delivery and not political/policy issues. As such, we could not ask the direct question of ones Confidence in Government. As a consequence of this limitation, the study was forced to design a proxy measure for Confidence in Government. This take us to the next slide. Source: Communications Canada

Thank You! For more information Charles Vincent Charles.Vincent@iccs-isac.org 416-325-5062 www.iccs-isac.org