INTRODUCTION

The Joint Councils representing all levels of Canadian government, supported by the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS), has designed and tested a Maturity Model for assessing how citizens experience government services involving more than one jurisdiction (the federal government and a provincial government; two provincial governments; a provincial government and a municipality). However, it can be adapted to any service experience.

The Joint Councils, comprised of the Public Sector Service Delivery Council and the Public Sector Chief Information Officer Council, brings together service and technology leaders from federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments to collaborate on service initiatives to improve public sector service delivery across Canada.

WHAT IS IT?

The Maturity Model is a tool that will help assess the current effectiveness of a service experience from a citizen perspective. It will also assist in determining what changes need to be made to improve that experience.

BACKGROUND

To apply and test the Maturity Model the Joint Councils selected a case study involving seniors accessing government disaster relief services. From severe wildfires and floods to avalanches, ice storms and pandemics, natural disasters have had devastating effects across Canada. Recovery usually involves multiple levels of government as well as broader public sector and non-governmental organizations. Opportunities to improve the citizen experience in accessing and receiving much needed services during recovery can be found by asking questions such as: What would the ideal citizen experience be as compared to what currently happens in such situations? What kind of service improvements might be recommended from a service design and delivery perspective to better meet citizen needs? Service experiences to consider might include finding shelter, accessing emergency funding, or replacing government documents destroyed in the disaster.

The Maturity Model has been designed in a way that makes it applicable to many types of public sector services. The purpose of this User Guide is to provide organizations with a detailed walkthrough on how to use it properly.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The Maturity Model includes the following attributes that can be used to understand the current state of citizen experience along a continuum of increasing satisfaction:

WHY THIS MATTERS?

Service matters. The experience people have when they are accessing government services forms their impression – positive or negative – about the effectiveness of public institutions and in turn the level of confidence they have in them. Using the Maturity Model to create positive service experiences for citizens can help to build and maintain trust in government.

The Maturity Model can also be used to identify specific problems, explore root causes, and identify enablers for improving service. This makes it a useful tool for any public sector service organization that is seeking to improve the services they offer.  It can also be used to assess the citizen experience of any intergovernmental public sector service.

This User Guide is meant to provide a practical approach for using the Maturity Model, which is designed to help you:

USING THE MODEL

Applying the model to your particular service is a three-step process:

HOW DO WE PROCEED?

This User Guide is broken down into three key steps:

Let's get started!