This chapter presents the 2024 OECD Recommendation on Human-Centred Public Administrative Services.
Serving Citizens 2026
Delivering Better Public Administrative Services
Abstract
The OECD Recommendation on Human Centred Public Administrative Services (“the Recommendation”) was adopted in 2024 to support governments in making public administrative services more satisfying and efficient (OECD, 2024[1]). The Recommendation starts from the premise that to improve a service, governments should begin by understanding the needs, wants and challenges of the people who use that service (“users”). They should then (re)design how the service is delivered to better meet their needs: making application processes easy and accessible, stripping out unnecessary steps and frustrations, and understanding when, where and how users want to interact with public institutions. This “human-centred” approach is intended to focus public institutions on making the changes that matter most to the public. In turn, this should improve their performance and public satisfaction. Box 3.1 describes the contents and concepts in the recommendation.
The Recommendation is designed to support governments in implementing a human-centred approach to PAS. It has four pillars, outlining the principles that governments should follow to implement a human-centred approach effectively. The pillars are intended to work together in a cycle. Governments should start from setting strategic vision for improving PAS, then build the right foundations of co-ordination, skills and infrastructure. From this platform, they can deliver practical improvements to make individual services more seamless and accessible. Finally, they should measure service performance, and engage with the public, to build an evidence base to support the next round of improvements.
1. Strategic vision, values and rights sets out how governments should establish the legal basis for PAS provision, focusing on the rights of service users. It then provides guidance on how governments can set out a strategy and vision to guide improvements in PAS. Specifically, the OECD recommends that countries should:
Foster and promote a strategic vision and approach to strengthen the design and delivery of services, based on the values and culture of a human-centred approach.
Uphold protection of the public interest, and the rights and legitimate interests of users through the design and delivery of services that offer procedural guarantees and administrative and judicial review.
Source: Authors’ illustration
2. Core Foundations provides guidance on the essential building blocks that governments need in place to deliver high-quality, human-centred administrative services. Governments need appropriate skills, infrastructure and co-ordination mechanisms to fully apply a human-centred approach. Public sector employees need an agile and flexible mindset and skills in areas like customer research and service design. Governments will also often require improvements in enabling capacities like digital infrastructure and data-sharing capabilities. This pillar highlights the importance of putting in place robust digital infrastructure, common standards and shared platforms that allow services to be delivered seamlessly, securely and efficiently. This pillar also includes recommendations for strengthening cross-government co-ordination by clarifying institutional roles, responsibilities and mandates for steering and supporting human-centred service design and delivery. Specifically, the OECD recommends that countries should:
Clearly define roles and responsibilities for enabling human centred service design and delivery.
Equip public servants with the skills and competencies and working environment to design and deliver human-centred services.
Ensure availability of reliable and inclusive digital public infrastructure that supports human-centred service design and delivery.
3. Seamless and accessible services provides guidance on the process of designing and improving services. When improving individual services, governments may need to improve the clarity and accessibility of information about the service; make changes in laws, regulations and operating procedures to simplify, remove, and re-design different steps and procedures; and modernize public agencies’ online, in-person and other delivery channels to help them to interact more effectively. People also commonly use PAS provided by different agencies together, such as when they experience a “life event” i.e. a change in their personal circumstances such as having a baby, buying a home, or losing a loved one. Seamless and accessible services means co-ordinating related services across agencies, making services easier for people to use at important points in their lives. The Recommendation provides support on applying human-centred design processes, on how to work collaboratively and inclusively with service users, and on how to enable innovation in service delivery. Specifically, the OECD recommends that countries should:
Adopt human-centred design and delivery approaches to improve users’ experiences and enable users to achieve their desired outcomes and meet their needs.
Adopt collaborative, inclusive and innovative approaches in the design and delivery of services.
4. Measurement, Engagement, Improvement advises on how to measure the performance of services, taking into account user feedback and performance measures. Governments need to measure service performance, to improve effectiveness and satisfaction, and create a feedback loop, with performance information guiding future improvements. Efficiency is also an important goal of reform, particularly in the current context of fiscal consolidation and redirecting expenditures. Human-centred outcomes and performance measures such as satisfaction levels, service coverage, application and delivery time, and costs, can help governments deliver better. Results can be shared through a variety of channels, including national performance dashboards. The outcomes, progress and forward-looking priority improvements need to be communicated to the public to respond to their expectations, report on progress and increase accountability. The OECD recommends that countries should:
Measure and report on user experiences with, and perceptions of, service design and delivery, and use this information to identify ways to improve satisfaction with public services.
Source: (OECD, 2024[1]).
References
[1] OECD (2024), Recommendation of the Council on Human-Centred Public Administrative Services, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0503.