TRUST AND PUBLIC
INSTITUTIONS :
DELIVERING OUTCOMES THAT
MATTER TO PEOPLE
Edwin Lau, Head of Reform of Public Sector Division
OECD Public Governance & Territorial Development Directorate
IPAA | Better Understanding the Drivers of Public Trust | 23 June
Trust in the government remains low and
decreasing in many OECD countries
Confidence in national government in 2015 and its change since 2007, %
% in 2015 (right axis)
%
Percentage points change since 2007 (left axis)
100
100
80
80
75
60
69
63
63
58
57
40
46 44 45
46
38
31
43.7
41
44
34
20
54
48 50
28
56
52
46
40
40
35
26
21
58
40
33
28
60
58 59
26
34
30
28
23
20
23
0
20
0
-40
-40
Source: Gallup World Poll
COL
CRI
LVA
LTU
ZAF
-20
DEU
ISL
ISR
AUT
SVK
JPN
CHE
GBR
CZE
GRC
IRL
KOR
NZL
HUN
POL
OECD
EST
DNK
TUR
CHL
FRA
ITA
USA
AUS
SWE
NLD
NOR
CAN
LUX
BEL
MEX
FIN
ESP
PRT
SVN
-20
However, existing measures of trust reflect
mainly leadership approval
Correlation between confidence in national government and approval of
government leadership, 2014
90.0
CHE
80.0
NOR
R² = 0.8125
DEU
Approval of country leadership
70.0
DNK
60.0
JPN
ISR BEL
AUT
GBR
KOR
MEX
SWE
TUR
SVN ESPPRT
30.0
FRA
20.0
CAN
OECD
40.0
POL
NZL
NLD
FIN
50.0
LUX
ITA USA
CHL
SVK
HUN
CZE
EST
AUS
ISL
IRL
GRC
10.0
0.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
Confidence in national government
Source: World Gallup Poll.
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Satisfaction with public services matters for trust
in public institutions
Correlation between self-reported satisfaction with local services and selfreported confidence in local authorities in OECD-EU countries, 2008-2015
80%
Confidence in local authorities
R²=0.75 (OECD-EU)
70%
FIN
LUX
AUT
DEU
ISL
SWE
60%
BEL
EST
DNK
NLD
FRA
HUN
50%
CZE
GBR
SVK
POL
PRT
40%
TUR
SVN
30%
IRL
ESP
GRC
ITA
20%
10%
0%
50%
Source: OECD
55%
60%
65%
70%
Satisfaction with local public services
75%
80%
85%
Investing in Trust: analytical framework
• Narrowed scope: public institutions and citizens
• Action oriented: trustworthiness
• Decomposed into governance drivers:
– 1st: start from government mandate (e.g. Anticipate change,
protect citizens, Use power and public resources ethically )
– 2nd: map concern affecting trust (e.g. uncertainty
management, corruption)
– 3rd: identify expected behaviour (e.g. Governments identifies
medium and long term risks and challenges and acts in
consequence; There are consequences for corruption political, civil and criminal)
Towards Actionable Policy Insights:
Deconstructing Citizen’s Trust in Government
OECD Trust Framework: Deconstructing Citizens’ Trust in Public Institutions
Source: OECD - GOV/PGC(2015)17
Drivers of satisfaction with public services
OECD TRUST FRAMEWORK
OECD SERVING CITIZENS
FRAMEWORK
(Government at a Glance 2015)
RESPONSIVENESS
RESPONSIVENESS
RELIABILITY
• Citizen centered approach
• Special needs
• Timeliness
QUALITY
INTEGRITY
OPENESS
FAIRNESS
• Effective delivery
• Consistency delivery/outcomes
• Security
ACCESS
• Affordability
• Geographic proximity
• Access information
Expectations regarding trustworthiness of public
institutions
competence
Do you agree with the following statements:
Responsiveness
Reliability
Integrity
values
Openness
Fairness
Public institutions deliver public services in the best possible way
Public institutions pursuit long term objectives
Public institutions behave according to ethical standards aimed at avoiding
corruption
Public institutions are transparent
Public institutions treat all citizens fairly regardless of their gender, race, age
or economic condition equally
Experiences of public service delivery
In the past 12 months, have you personally received a public service ?
Trust
Satisfaction with services
ACCESS
RESPONSIVENESS
QUALITY
Affordability
Citizen centered
approach
(courtesy, treatment
and integrated
services)
Effective delivery of
services
and outcomes
Geographic proximity
Match of services to
special needs
Consistency in
service delivery and
outcomes
Accessibility of
information
Timeliness
Security (safety)
Source: Adapted from Government at a Glance 2015
Contextual
factors:
Socio-economic
context
Historic context
Political context
Media
A situational approach to measuring institutional
trust
Rosenberg question: “Generally speaking would you say that most people
can be trusted or that you need to be really careful in dealing with people?
Wallet question: “In the city or area where you live, imagine you lost your
wallet or something holding your identification or address and it was found
by someone else. Do you think your wallet (or your valuables) would be
returned to you if it were found by someone else? Do you think your wallet
(or your valuables) would be returned to you if it were found by a
neighbour/the police/stranger?
Extending the Situational Approach:
Looking for actionable insights
How do (citizens) think their government would behave under a given
specific circumstance(s)? or do you trust your government to do X
if Y happens?
Dimensions
Reliability: the ability of governments to
minimize uncertainty in the economic,
social and political environment facing
people, and to act in a consistent and
predictable manner in responding to this
uncertainty;
Components
Government identifies medium and
long term risks and challenges and
acts in consequence
Government exhibits consistent
and predictable behaviour
 Government mandate
 Concern affecting trust
Questions
If an alert due to the appearance of a
new disease is raised, do you think
existing public health plans would be
effective?
If you start a business today do you
think that the conditions under which
you operate (taxes, regulations, etc.)
will remain reasonably stable?
If a natural disaster occurs do you
think that the provision of food, shelter
and clothing will be available?
Testing the OECD Trust Framework: A
country example
Subjects and time period
• Population: All general citizens over 20 year old
• Sampling size (number of respondents): 3,000 people
• Time period: January 20th – February 22nd, 2016
Sampling design and sampling
• Sampling frame: 2010 Census
• Sampling method: Stratified random sampling
• Stratification criteria: Region; gender; age
• Data collection method: Face to face interview using
structured questionnaire
Positive perception of competence and values positively
correlated with Trust
“How much confidence do you have in public institutions to …” 0- No confidence at all, 10-full confidence“
0- no trust at all, 10-I trust very much
Looking forward
•
Improving public services can play an important role in strengthening trust in
government (connection services performance, satisfaction, and trust)
•
This approach provides an anchor for sustained, tangible government efforts that
citizens are able to value and asses, independent of broader dynamics
•
But, link between service quality and trust is complementary to broader observations
of trust in government, including at the macro-level and at the meso-level => these
dimensions interact and may reinforce each other
•
Access, responsiveness, and quality are key drivers in improving citizens’
satisfaction with services and, consequently, trust. This is a matter of both
competence and values.
•
Better understanding citizen’s needs, experience and preferences can result in better
targeted, more tailored services, including for underserved populations.
•
The increasing focus on outcomes, in part driven by productivity concerns, can
help drive innovative solutions in service provision, including through improving
joined-up delivery across silos
THANKS
[email protected]