government service centres – improving citizen engagement ......improving citizen engagement with...

Government Service Centres –improving citizen engagement with

government

Government Service Centres –improving citizen engagement with

government

Presentation to the service delivery academy

Glenda WhiteCentre for Public Service

Innovation30 July 2004

Government Service CentresGovernment Service Centres

• Services centres are one-stop integrated service delivery sites where citizens can address a range of service needs in one place.

• Focused around the needs and preferences of citizens, specific to the location in which the centre is based.

• Dynamic mix of technology, physical facilities, creative financing and specially skilled human resources, not all of which need to be owned or managed by government.

GSCs should not be ‘business as usual’GSCs should not be ‘business as usual’• Integration of national, provincial and local government

under one roof, addressing critical life events requirements of citizens and businesses in a creative and dynamic manner.

• Design of centres based on consumer preferences, and preferred environments for conducting business.

• State of the art technology enabling self-help and assisted access.

• Government institutions can showcase service delivery initiatives and improvements – accelerated access.

GSCs should be one component of a broader strategy of improving access to services

GSCs should be one component of a broader strategy of improving access to services

Direct On-line services on

personal device

Self-help on public device

(ATM, PIT)

Limited assistance

at a service point

Specific services

through a mobile or

special function unit

Full assistanceat a service

centre

1 room with 2-3

service providers

Multi-roomed ‘shopping mall’

facility with 30 providers

GSCs are based on four components …..GSCs are based on four components …..Smart infrastructural

design• Modular• Scaleable• Shared resources Creative financing

arrangements• Better design and shared

infrastructure will lead to lower initial costs

• Initial capital costs can be covered by private sector involvement or conditional grants

• Ongoing costs covered by departmental contributions (presence fees and service fees)

Core services package• National level agreements

with key service delivery agencies that need to be present in each centre

• Re-allocation of funds within budgets of key service delivery agencies

Municipal (provincial) ownership

• Context is important: Urban and Rural GSCs have different requirements– Concentrations and profile of citizens– Easy of general access to government– Availability of connectivity

• Build on intelligent Government– Re-use personal information for multiple purposes– Many services from same service interaction – without

queuing– Growing set of government services and information

offered in the same way

GSCs build on a number of important principles


• Local government is the key integration point– Greatest degree of interaction with citizens– Already integrating Local and Provincial Government

offerings • Government need not be the prime funding source

– Other players can provide the debt and equity requirements– Structure funding, risk and returns in a way attractive to

investors– Government willing and able to pay for service provision– Utilise funding partners where they are willing, and directly

address under-served areas



• E-government enabled, not dependent– Sufficient web-enabled services to make a start

• 14 National Departments possible tenants• 5 of them important anchor tenants

– Will migrate to portal/gateway as services become available

– Can add integrative software or processes in the service centre

• Needs to be built into the ICT development plan of the municipality



Core Service Providers are critical to the success of a GSC

Core Service Providers are critical to the success of a GSC

• Sufficient service providers identified to provide a start-up service. Of the 14, these are key:– Home Affairs– Labour– DTI– Social Development– Local government servcies

These are the anchor tenants. Many more Departmentsare able to provide their

services through theGSC.

Service provision will evolve over time to greater integration

Service provision will evolve over time to greater integration

0

20

40

60

80

100

Initial Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

% Service Provision by Depts

% Service Provision by SDE

Technology brings great potential benefits to a well-organised GSC

Technology brings great potential benefits to a well-organised GSC

• Citizen history on database at centres• Can feed into Gateway/central portals• Can share between GSCs

• Potential for ‘pre-populated’ forms• SMS alerts where applicable• Service delivery measured per service provider• Tracking of service delivery to Citizen• Life-cycle of a service, from request to delivery

Site ServiceProvider Rep Landlord

Operator/FacilitiesManager

Developer

M M MM

PD Provincial Dept

ND National Dept

PS Private Sector

M Municipality

ND ND

PD PD

PS PS PSPS

There are multiple players and roles within a GSC

• A central institution that • Contracts Service Providers• Contracts Facilities Managers/Operators• Manages service levels

• Needed:• To secure the Operator• To formalise risk allocation to party best able to

manage it• To define the value-for-money

• Private Sector can operate without such an entity, but provision of finance only feasible if it exists

Single Legal Entity

Financing arrangements

• Model is generic to many sites• All costs to be allowed for• Staff provided [...] input and output

Costs:CapitalFacility Management OperationsICTService Provider

RevenuePer Square metre or per transactionCompatible Tenancies incomeNo Charge to Citizens

Government Service Centres are being established as part of the Gateway project

Government Service Centres are being established as part of the Gateway project

Existing MPCCs•Provide a set of tools to improve service delivery

– Gateway portal (and other website)– Systems to improve front-office functioning– Place the service centre within a wider support network– Shared facilities

•Uses the Gateway portal as an enabler– Centralised government information and services – organised in a user-friendly way– Centrally maintained– provides a new and powerful opportunity for integration

•Supported by– Business process re-engineering– innovation in cost-sharing and financing

New sites in the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town

Glenda WhiteExecutive Director, CPSI

Tel: +27 12 672-2867Fax: +27 12 672-1321

[email protected]

Glenda WhiteExecutive Director, CPSI

Tel: +27 12 672-2867Fax: +27 12 672-1321

[email protected]

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