In the current fast-evolving environment, people expect governments to deliver public administrative services (PAS) that meet their changing needs and improve as technology advances. PAS are the processes that members of the public use to access publicly provided goods or services, comply with laws and regulations, and/or use their rights. Examples of PAS include, but are not limited to, registering a birth or death, obtaining identity documents, registering to vote, and applying for government permits and licences. The quality of PAS can directly impact people’s lives by affecting their access to government programmes and how effectively they can exercise their rights. The quality of PAS also has implications for public trust in government institutions, as using PAS is typically the most frequent form of interaction people have with government agencies.
Recognising the importance of PAS in people’s lives, OECD Member countries adopted the Recommendation of the Council on Human-Centred Public Administrative Services in 2024. The Recommendation outlines how governments can make PAS accessible, seamless and proactive for everyone. This is what is meant by human-centred: services, which are actively designed to meet the needs of the people who use them and make it as easy as possible to reach their goals. The OECD is required to prepare regular progress updates, tracking how well countries are implementing the Recommendation and delivering PAS that better meet the public’s needs.
This report, Serving Citizens 2026: Delivering Better Public Administrative Services, marks the OECD’s first review of how PAS are managed and delivered in OECD and partner countries. Following the adoption of the Recommendation, and under the supervision of the Public Governance Committee, a new original survey of governments was carried out with OECD Members and partner countries in late 2024, examining the extent to which they are implementing the Recommendation. Serving Citizens 2026 presents these findings. Data presents countries’ status as of November 2024, the time of the original survey. The report identifies existing good practices from across the OECD and offers guidance on how OECD and partner countries can better implement the Recommendation. The report also provides an important baseline of information to support countries’ in monitoring their progress on the human-centred delivery of PAS for years to come.