How can you compare public service delivery models?

1 Objectives and outcomes

The first step is to define what you want to achieve with your public service delivery model. What are the goals and priorities of your policy or program? Who are the target beneficiaries and what are their needs and preferences? How will you measure and evaluate the impact and effectiveness of your service delivery? These questions will help you clarify your objectives and outcomes, and guide your choice of the most suitable model.

2 Resources and constraints

The next step is to assess the resources and constraints that affect your public service delivery model. What are the available financial, human, and physical resources, and how can they be allocated and managed efficiently and equitably? What are the legal, institutional, and political constraints that limit or enable your service delivery? How can you overcome or mitigate the risks and challenges that may arise? These questions will help you identify the resources and constraints that shape your service delivery model.

3 Stakeholders and participation

The third step is to consider the stakeholders and participation involved in your public service delivery model. Who are the actors and partners that have a role or interest in your service delivery, such as government agencies, private sector, civil society, and community groups? How will you engage and communicate with them, and ensure their accountability and transparency? How will you involve the beneficiaries and users of your service delivery, and ensure their voice and feedback? These questions will help you understand the stakeholders and participation that influence your service delivery model.

4 Innovation and learning

The fourth step is to explore the innovation and learning opportunities in your public service delivery model. How can you use new technologies, methods, or approaches to improve your service delivery, and make it more responsive, accessible, and inclusive? How can you learn from the best practices and experiences of other countries or sectors, and adapt them to your context? How can you monitor and evaluate your service delivery, and use the evidence and lessons learned to improve your performance and outcomes? These questions will help you foster the innovation and learning that enhance your service delivery model.

5 Trade-offs and choices

The final step is to weigh the trade-offs and choices that come with your public service delivery model. No model is perfect or optimal for every situation, and each one has its strengths and weaknesses, costs and benefits, opportunities and threats. How will you balance the competing or conflicting interests and values of different stakeholders and beneficiaries? How will you deal with the uncertainty and complexity of the external environment and the changing needs and expectations of the users? How will you ensure the sustainability and scalability of your service delivery model? These questions will help you make the trade-offs and choices that define your service delivery model.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?