A core principle of the OECD Recommendation on Human-Centred Public Administrative Services is that public services aim to meet user expectations. This is essential to ensuring that services are both functional and build trust in public institutions. The recommendation encourages countries to measure performance, gather feedback from users and engage with stakeholders to drive continuous service improvement (OECD, 2024). By regularly assessing user experiences and perceptions, public administrations can identify improvements in service design and delivery, enhance transparency and support participation, leading to more responsive and inclusive public services (OECD, 2024).
Surveys of citizens' experiences and satisfaction with public services help governments understand how services can be improved. User feedback can be used to compare services with one another, or to diagnose problems experienced by the public. Seven of eight SEA countries for which data are available undertake some form of user survey. Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand have run national user satisfaction surveys covering services from multiple agencies. Five out of eight countries (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) conduct agency-level surveys, which are managed by individual agencies that deliver public services. Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines and Thailand run both national user surveys, as well as agency-level surveys. For example, the Philippines Citizen Satisfaction (CitSat) and Business Satisfaction (BizSat) surveys ask users about interactions with public services. They help to identify drivers of satisfaction and measurable service quality indicators (
Table 6.2).
Feedback and complaint mechanisms are helpful for continuous improvement, as they offer channels that empower citizens to report issues, provide constructive feedback and hold service providers accountable. All eight SEA countries for which data are available have adopted some kind of feedback or complaint mechanism. In seven of the eight surveyed countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam), citizens can submit their feedback through national online portals. This approach centralises the process and can make it easier by allowing service users to voice their opinions or concerns in a single location. Lao PDR primarily relies on a public hotline to collect feedback (Table 6.3). Data received via feedback channels can provide a useful view of common or significant problems users face. It is important that feedback data can be analysed systematically.
Transparency and accountability are important to a human-centred approach in public service delivery. Performance reporting can support governments to understand the performance of public services against desired standards and help to identify areas requiring improvement or additional resources. Six out of eight SEA countries for which data are available publish reports on the performance of public administrative services. Data on performance against established standards are published in four out of eight countries (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore), offering measurable benchmarks on service delivery. User survey reports, which capture user feedback on user satisfaction and service experiences, have been published in five out of eight countries (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam). Annual performance reports by individual agencies delivering public services are published in three out of eight countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore). Publishing such reports is important for enhancing transparency, enabling accountability and supporting evidence-based service improvement. Independent evaluations, such as reports from ombudsperson offices or other government bodies, are also employed in Indonesia and the Philippines. Singapore also engages with civil society through evaluations of non-governmental organisations (
Table 6.4).