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The Citizen as Consumer?. Christopher Stone Centre for Policy Development. CPD – Public Sector Research Program. http://cpd.org.au. Citizen as consumer?. “Essentially , all models are wrong, but some are useful.” - George E. P. Box
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The Citizen as Consumer? Christopher Stone Centre for Policy Development
CPD – Public Sector Research Program http://cpd.org.au
Citizen as consumer? • “Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful.” - George E. P. Box • Relationship not just provider and consumer, Public Service has different responsibilities…
… to Service Users • Christopher Stone (2012) Valuing skills: Why Vocational Training Matters
… to Broader Public • Christopher Stone (2013) False Economies Part 2: Doing less with less • Example: Public transport subsidies • Annual benefit to car drivers from trains was calculated to be $923 million
… to Government • Tim Roxburgh (2012) Public works need public sector skills: The lost lessons of the BER program
Ignore Certain Ideas • Example: Co-production • "Co-production means delivering public services in an equal and reciprocal relationship between professionals, people using services, their families and their neighbours" - New Economics Foundation
Uncritically Accept Certain Ideas • Example: New Public Management • Arguably increased efficiency but lessened protections against politicisation
Private Sector Primacy • Also an overly simple model • Yellow pages test • Conditions preventing well-functioning market: • non-competitive conditions • single buyer • alternative means of competition • principal-agent • de-skilling • loss of economies of scale
Side Note: 3 Kinds of Efficiency • Doing the most with the fewest resources • (technical efficiency) • Doing the right kind of work • (allocative efficiency) • Finding new ways to fill needs • (dynamic efficiency)
Big Society • Manifesto of UK PM David Cameron, based on ideas of think tank director Phillip Blond
Big Society cuts in the UK • Social housing development • Religious and community services • Community development • Central and other health services • Family and children social services
Big Society cuts in Queensland • Housing, social welfare and other community services • Dept of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services • Child safety and social inclusion services • Alcohol reform programs • Financial crisis emergency relief • Community Development Program • Neighbourhood Centre, Youth at Risk and Youth Support programs • Department of Health grants to NGOs
Customer focus • Better is: outwards more than upwards
Cross-Sector Learning • Productivity Commission (2???) Public and Private Hospitals
Allowed to Fail • Non-innovative culture? • Adversity ≠ Innovation • Lack of resources most frequent problem • Most innovations come from middle management or frontline staff • A case of supported public sector innovation