Delivering seamless and accessible public administrative services requires adopting a human-centred approach that prioritises user needs, streamlines interactions and proactively addresses potential barriers. Services designed and delivered this way promote equity, simplify administrative processes and leverage digital tools and innovation to ensure positive user experiences. Service standards enable public sector organisations to adopt a consistent approach to service design across sectors and institutions, providing users with a seamless experience whether they access services online or offline, and irrespective of their point of entry. OECD countries are increasingly adopting service standards for the whole government to establish a common approach to designing and delivering government services. Of the 33 OECD countries surveyed, 28 (85%) have implemented a public service standard (Figure 4.17).
OECD countries can also use human-centred service design and user research methods to involve users in the design of government services. More than half of countries (19 out of 33, 58%) test usability with users or providers before launching a service while 15 out of 33 (45%) use focus groups to identify user needs and test public services, and 13 (40%) employ design thinking sessions. Only five countries use A/B testing (15%), and only two each first-click testing and tree testing (6%) (Online Figure J.2.3). Assessing the effectiveness of these methods will help ensure services are designed to meet user needs and also remain efficient, accessible and improve over time.
The life event approach helps to align services with citizens’ needs by organising them around key events in peoples’ lives, such as the birth of a child, retirement or losing a job. A majority of OECD countries have taken a life event approach to some public administrative services in some form (20 out of 28 countries, 71%) and another 5 countries (18%) are planning to (Figure 4.18).
There are two main models for the life event approach. In the information grouping model, governments collate information and links relevant to a given life event in a single place, directing users to the relevant websites or portals for each service, which often still operate independently. More advanced is the integrated services model, where users interact with a single entry point for the entire life event. Services are bundled together, leveraging co-ordination and collaboration among providers, while data interoperability means users only have to provide information once. Thirteen countries have begun to integrate some services for at least one of nine significant life events. Countries most frequently offer an integrated service for those having a baby (9 out of the 19 countries using a life event approach and for which information is available; 47%), followed by starting a business (7 out of 19, 37%) and loss of employment (6 out of 19, 32%). Countries are least likely to offer integrated services for those getting married (1 out of 19 , 5%). They are most likely to offer information grouping for death of a loved one (15 out of 19, 79%). Denmark is using integrated services most widely (six of the nine life events assessed) (Figure 4.19). Gathering information about effectiveness and user satisfaction with these approaches will be essential to refining service models and ensuring they meet citizens’ evolving needs and expectations.