Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS)

Governments across Canada and around the world are shifting toward a "client-centred" approach to service delivery. Rather than being driven by bureaucratic structures, service delivery priorities in the priority sector are increasingly defined by an "outside-in" or "client" perspective. Taking Care of Business consists of groundbreaking research providing Canadian governments with further insight into business clients' views of public sector services while outlining opportunities to improve service quality.

The original Taking Care of Business, published in 2004, was a landmark step in this evolution. Through a national survey of 6,000 business clients, Taking Care of Business asked clients what they thought about the delivery of public services, what expectations they held and what they saw as the priorities for improvement. This study was sponsored by a partnership of 20 public sector organizations reflecting federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments across Canada. The survey was designed to gain insight into five primary areas: service access channels; service quality; drivers of satisfaction; service preferences; and, client relationship management.

Planning for Taking Care of Business 2 is well underway. This new national survey will build on the work of the original Taking Care of Business to provide deeper insight into the drivers of satisfaction and other key objectives of better understanding business clients' needs. This study is targeted for publication in April 2007.

Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) 2004
A world-class centre of expertise and a champion for citizen-centred service