The future of service provision in public administration

Public administration is facing a fundamental transformation in order to meet the needs of citizens. As digitalisation progresses, citizens expect a simple, personalised and easily accessible service – similar to what they are used to in the private sector. This expectation poses challenges for public administration, as the service aspect is often still neglected as administrative services shift from the face-to-face environment of local government offices to the digital sphere.

In recent years, public administration services have increasingly moved into the digital sphere. However, whilst many services are now available online, the customer service aspect has often been overlooked. Citizens are frequently faced with questions such as ‘What do I need to apply for?’ or ‘Where can I find the right information?’ A key problem remains the lack of user-friendliness of many online services, which, despite the requirements of the OZG service standard, are not always self-explanatory.

Whether in a large city or a small town, there remains a high demand for support to help citizens navigate administrative services. An efficient and user-friendly service is therefore essential for citizens to accept the increasing digitalisation of public administration.

Citizens’ expectations have changed dramatically. Today, they expect the public sector to operate with a similar level of agility and customer focus to that of private companies. They want ultra-fast, personalised service that is available round the clock across all channels – from chat and telephone to social media. Based on their experiences with private companies, this service experience is increasingly taken for granted. However, it is often forgotten that public administration is subject to different fundamental constraints. For public administration, the aim should not be to offer the same service as private companies. Rather, its responsibility lies in providing an appropriate service that is cost-effective whilst also meeting citizens’ needs. Unlike private-sector companies, public administration does not have to compete with rival firms. Nevertheless, the service must be designed in such a way that it enables citizens to deal with their matters efficiently and without obstacles. Consequently, the public administration must also invest in its relationship with its customers or citizens in order to maintain social acceptance and foster a sense of closeness. 

In order to take federalism into account and meet the diverse requirements, the services provided by the administration must be distributed across different levels. One way of achieving this is through a combination of centralised and decentralised service delivery. 

• Centralised service offering: Here, a central point of contact acts as the first point of contact for general enquiries from across Germany. This service acts as a central information point for administrative services and forwards specific enquiries. Such a centralised service offering can also function as a fault reporting hotline and log service tickets for technical issues. Certain parts of this service are already available via the government helpline 115. However, this service is not yet available nationwide across Germany and does not yet provide ‘first-level support’ for all enquiries.
• Decentralised service provision: Specific enquiries and information on procedures are handled by the specialist departments and the relevant case officers. Direct services are offered here at a regional or specialist level to deal with specific matters. As a general rule, the decentralised service should not act as the first point of contact; instead, the central service receives all enquiries and only forwards them to the specialist departments where necessary. This helps to genuinely reduce the workload on the specialist departments.  

The administration has the opportunity to achieve significant efficiency gains through the use of modern technologies. Centralised and standardised services not only offer benefits in terms of cost reduction, but also prevent confusion amongst citizens caused by differing layouts and content.

A key aspect is the discoverability and accessibility of services. Citizens need to know at all times where they can resolve their issues independently. A central platform that is accessible at all times and provides relevant information in a user-friendly format is essential. 

User-friendliness deserves particular attention. Chatbots, AI-powered search functions and intelligent suggestions can significantly improve user-friendliness and help to make administrative services as efficient and accessible as possible. These technical solutions not only help to improve the quality of service for citizens, but also significantly reduce the workload on administrative staff. 

There are various innovative approaches that can be used to improve the range of services offered by public administration. A key component is modern contact centres, which use intelligent routing to direct enquiries efficiently to the right point of contact. With the help of AI-based systems, enquiries can be identified and forwarded to the relevant staff in real time. 

Another example is the AI-based application search under the Online Access Act (OZG). Here, chatbots can guide citizens through the ‘jungle’ of OZG services and find the right application forms for them. This dialogue-based search enables citizens to formulate their enquiries in a straightforward manner and receive the necessary information or application forms directly. 

Self-service chatbots also play a key role in the transformation of public administration. These chatbots can automatically answer the majority of general enquiries, drawing on existing data and information. The use of AI and natural language processing systems greatly simplifies citizens’ access to complex administrative information. 

The transformation of the range of services offered by public administration brings benefits for both citizens and administrative staff. The introduction of efficient self-service options not only reduces the workload on specialist departments, thereby saving resources and time; it also means that the administration as a whole will be better able to meet growing demands and ensure a higher standard of service. Innovative technologies such as AI, chatbots and centralised service platforms help to make administrative services fit for the future and offer citizens a modern, digital public administration.