Participatory Processes to Improve Public Services and the User Experience (ESNAV0001)

Commitment ID

ESNAV0001

Commitment Title

Participatory Processes to Improve Public Services and the User Experience

Problem

One of the problems with public services lies in the lack of effective and structured civic participation. The scarcity of knowledge about how to participate and the shortage of a participatory culture in government DNA limit the influence that people can have over these services. This in turn makes it difficult to truly meet these people’s needs. In addition, public accountability is at times limited, and participation is not inclusive and diverse, with individual processes predominating that exclude migrants, older people and those living in rural areas. Furthermore, the technocracy and a lack of a training culture for professionals hinder the creation of accessible and inclusive spaces. In rural areas, this shortcoming is more acute, and the lack of websites worsens the problem, leading to the services not reaching their users properly. As a result of this disconnect between the design of services and the situations citizens face, together with the lack of transparency, there is a loss of trust in the system.

Status quo

According to surveys from 2023 and 2024, the level of trust in the Government of Navarre is 40%, while 71.4% of the population have a positive opinion of public services, which can be considered high, growing and consolidated. In addition, the Navarrese Public Administration is perceived as more qualified, more transparent and efficient than other public administrations in Spain and the EU. However, the rating has fallen in some services, particularly health and procedures are considered less satisfactory, with 50% rating them positively. The main problems people highlighted are slowness (53%) and bureaucracy (32%), while the improvements most requested include more communication channels (54%) and greater transparency (34%).

A preference was shown for in-person contact, although the use of digital channels has grown. Forty per cent of people still consider that public services do not treat everyone equally. 

 Lastly, there are positive participatory experiences for re-designing services, such as in the VIDAAS center and Citizens Advice Offices, but these are initial cases, and they have not been replicated in other areas of the Government of Navarre.

Action

Participatory design is a key strategy for improving public services by means of the active inclusion of all the stakeholders, ensuring they meet the needs of users and reflect the diversity of current society. This process involves users as well as personnel and experts, and can be conducted in spaces such as citizens laboratories, open innovation spaces or through proof of experience, guaranteeing inclusive participation from the outset.

To this end, the listening channels must be diversified, and methodologies must be combined to gain a comprehensive view of citizen satisfaction, working by segments and adapting the hours and modes of participation. In addition, a cross-cutting approach must be applied that integrates the gender perspective, inclusion of people with disabilities and older people to improve the quality of the service offered to citizens.

The involvement of the media in public accountability, together with education on the transformation of the public services provides credibility and brings the services closer to people. The idea is to begin by re-designing existing services and clearly define their objectives to help to consolidate a culture of continuous improvement, of proximity to the actual situations in different areas, and to bolster trust in the public administration.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

It aims to improve civic participation in the design of public services, creating collaboration spaces and initiatives to re-design essential services that meet users’ real needs, having a positive impact on their lives

• Training on the assessment of services from the perspective of users helps civil servants better understand citizens’ needs and expectations 
• The pilot project for the collaborative re-design of key services aims to develop efficient solutions that can be replicated, therefore improving their usability and accessibility, having a direct impact on users’ quality of life
• The mobile office, a truck known as ‘the government in the town square’, will seek to improve public services and bring the administration closer to the citizens, offering services, training and workshops in the territory, for shared use with local councils and other departments of the Government of Navarre. The idea is to function as a space for dialogue and identification of the needs of the community and to guarantee equal opportunities of access to the administration for all citizens
• Creation of a single website to inform citizens about the service channels (focused on omnichanneling) and other resources that will be developed participatorily, involving different collectives 
• The publication of progress made in different media will make it possible to share experiences, therefore driving transparency and building a culture of ongoing participation and trust in governance

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

This commitment is aligned with the general objectives of the Action Plan, promoting genuine civic participation that goes beyond the obligatory, and becomes an active and authentic channel to improve public policies. Training for civil servants in the analysis of services from the user’s perspective strengthens public administration geared towards citizens, increasing its sensitivity and ability to respond to its requests. The implementation of mobile offices establishes a direct connection between the government and people, providing accessible participation and boosting services to citizens. The participatory re-design of key services promotes a collaborative relationship where citizens not only use services, they actively contribute to their improvement. In addition, the new website simplifies access, facilitates procedures and makes the use of resources more transparent, while the involvement of the media will enable the ongoing dissemination of these advances, strengthening public accountability and promoting open dialogue.

Primary Policy Area

Beneficial Ownership, Civic Space

Primary Sector

Cross-sectoral, Public Services (general)

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?