Lessons from the 2023 OECD Trust Survey in Slovenia

6. Areas of opportunity for government action to enhance trust: an overview

Abstract

This chapter provides a summary overview of the guidelines for action derived from the OECD Trust Survey results in Slovenia, aimed at bolstering trust in public institutions. The recommendations are structured into four broad themes that encompass the main areas for improvement outlined in this report.

The analysis of the OECD Trust Survey results in Slovenia led to policy recommendations for strengthening trust in public institutions. The report groups the main areas for improvement and guidelines for action under four broad themes. A summary of these recommendations is provided below, while more detailed recommendations can be found in the corresponding chapters.

• Trust as a policy objective (see Chapter 2)

  • Mitigating the impact of socio-economic and demographic characteristics on trust levels through inclusive policy development, youth engagement, and diverse participation opportunities

• Day-to-day interaction with public institutions (see Chapter 3)

  • Improving the reliability of services, notably by focusing on bridging the satisfaction gap between the healthcare system and other services, enhancing digital administrative service accessibility, and addressing concerns about personal data use in conjunction with modernisation efforts.

  • Enhancing the quality of interactions between public sector employees and the population by increasing representation and diversity within the public sector, providing robust bias-countering training, and ensuring the thorough implementation and clear communication of integrity frameworks.

  • Striving to provide more responsive services, programmes and policies, notably by establishing a unified approach to gather and utilise user feedback, connecting feedback to decision-making processes, and addressing unique barriers for financially vulnerable, discriminated groups, and those over 50.

• Complex decision-making (see Chapter 3)

  • Enhancing the government’s ability to address complex, global, and long-term challenges by prioritising the inclusion of vulnerable individuals in emergency preparedness planning and fostering responsible innovation through effective regulatory and policy processes.

  • Further anchoring decision-making processes in democratic principles for the public interest, notably by adopting a comprehensive national strategy on public integrity risks, increasing transparency in decision-making, and strengthening the use of evidence in policymaking.

  • Ensuring people feel heard and involved in public decisions. The government could address this by fostering a legal, political, and social environment that enables a vibrant civic space, integrating direct participation mechanisms into decision-making, and listening to informal modes of public expression.

• Media environment and public communication (see Chapter 5)

  • Actively communicating about the evidence, research, and statistics that inform decisions to improve public perception of the decision-making process.

  • Furthering efforts to promote and protect media pluralism.

  • Developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for media literacy interventions.

  • Leveraging public communication by improving public communication around reform, enabling public communication offices to carry out audience segmentation and insights, and engaging with stakeholders earlier in the policy-making process.