New Report: The Changing Landscape for Delivering Services
As part of their ‘Changing Landscapes’ research series, Civica International engaged the Institute for Public Policy and Governance at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS:IPPG) to research how local governments in Australia and New Zealand are involving citizens in the design and delivery of services, using the lens of co-design as an approach. The research informed a new report from Civica International, ‘The Changing Landscape: Co-design; different ideas from a different voice’.
The research included interviews and case studies from a range of councils across Australia and New Zealand to explore how councils are involving citizens in service design and delivery, and in particular whether co-design approaches are being used. The role of digital technologies to enable and support community involvement in service design and delivery was also a research focus, as Professor Roberta Ryan states “Any discussion of how the public sector reaches out to involve stakeholders and citizens to support its decision-making and delivery of services has to take into consideration the emergence of new technology, mainly through participative web and social media”.
Headline findings from the research and report include:
- Co-design and co-production as an approach to service design is in early stages. It is an emerging practice for local government and communities working together to plan services.
- Co-design requires councils to view community members as more than service users, and to understand and appreciate the community’s skills set.
- Digital technologies can provide vital civic infrastructure that creates spaces for community members and government to connect in co-design
- Involvement in service design has intrinsic value for communities and builds understanding of why local government matters.
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