Background

Governments across Canada are embracing a "citizen-centred" approach to service delivery and it is starting to make a difference. The public sector has been shedding an internally-focused (or "inside-out") perspective and has been increasingly adopting an "outside-in" perspective when delivering service to the public - a perspective where the interests and opinions of citizens are instrumental in defining expectations, setting priorities, and establishing service standards.

The original Citizens First study (published in 1998) was a landmark step in this evolution. Through Citizens First, Canadians across the country were asked what they thought about the delivery of public services, what expectations they held, and what they saw as the priorities for improvement. Sponsored by federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, Citizens First identified the drivers of satisfaction with service delivery, dispelled myths about the relative quality of public services, and highlighted the importance of service standards. This series started to received both Canadian and international awards and recognition in the early 1990’s*.

Citizens First 2000 picked up where the original Citizens First report left off, confirming major findings of the 1998 project, tracking trends, and extending the discussion to new areas such the drivers of citizen satisfaction as they relate to specific delivery channels (face-to-face, telephone, and electronic service delivery).

Citizens First 3 (2002) continued to build on previous surveys. Its particular focus was on the challenges associated with seamless service using multi-channel service delivery, and the relationships between the quality of services that citizens receive and their level of confidence in government institutions.

Citizens First 4 (2005) This study offered invaluable insights into what Canadians expect and experience with respect to public-sector service delivery. It provides empirical evidence that Canadians have seen significant improvements in service performance by all levels of the public sector for the fourth survey in a row; it confirms that Canadians who receive high quality public services have more confidence in the public sector; and it highlights how to further improve service quality by improving access to services, and by understanding Canadian’s concerns about the privacy and security of their personal information.

Citizens First 5 (2008) The voice of the citizen is critical to our ability as public servants to make the necessary changes in our service delivery strategies. Through Citizens First 5 we have heard directly from 6,700 Canadians from every province and territory. We have asked them about all types of government services offered through the three orders of government – municipal/regional, provincial/territorial and federal and they have told us that good service does matter. They say that their satisfaction with our services has risen, but that there is still room for improvement.