Public Agencies and Citizen Engagement:
Getting Beyond the Customer-Service Model

By Phillip Lurie

How do government agencies and administrators go about their daily work in a way that invites citizens into the decision-making process?

It’s an important question. It doesn’t mean administrators reinvent their positions or add additional tasks to their already heavy workload. Instead, they approach their current work differently; it is not doing something different, but doing what you do differently. In most cases, this is a mental hurdle that is difficult to overcome, but there is some evidence that such a transformation is possible.

In 2005, The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation looked at governmental agencies in various states and found that they were struggling with what it means to engage citizens in a meaningful way. The Clark County, Nevada, Department of Parks and Community Services realized that in order to be more effective it needed to change the way it worked with citizens. This department had historically worked under the rubric that citizens were customers, and as such, responses toward citizen problems required a customer-service attitude.

This mindset was ingrained into the staff through banners in the halls and with stickers, pens, and so on, all with the inscription “Celebrate the Customer.” It was an initiative that failed and ended when a new county manager took office, and became the “champion” the department needed to move it in another direction.

It was noted in the Summer 2006 issue of Connections that a champion is a staff person in a leadership position who can incorporate democratic practices into the work of an organization and lead successful examples of citizen engagement that feature a new relationship between the agency and the public. In this case, the new relationship was one of shared responsibilities. Instead of the “complain-react” relationship that characterizes a customer-service attitude, there is a two-way conversation in which both the agency and citizens must take responsibility for action. Thus the questions have changed from what can we do for you? to what can we do together?

Changing the conversation with citizens about services was not the only aspect that needed changing. Staff members had to learn to communicate differently with each other as well. By increasing collaboration among staff with respect to public engagement practices, ideas and knowledge could be disseminated in various programs and neighborhoods. This could also bring about changes in how citizens view and work with the department.

However, while the conversations have changed, the structures remain the same. Clark County staff has not changed the means through which they engage the citizenry, which includes town advisory boards, citizen advisory councils, focus groups, and community forums. They continue to work through established systems, but now when citizens engage, they see themselves as potential actors.

This paradigm shift did not happen overnight or without provocation. Department staff went through training in mediation and public-servant orientation. They are now evaluated according to the principles of public engagement through performance review and incentive programs. Of course, changes take time, and the new philosophy of the Clark County Department of Parks and Community Services is by no means a finished product.

The San Jose Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement is another example of a government agency that is struggling with its identity as a provider of customer service. This agency has realized that while customer service is the appropriate response for an information desk or for fixing potholes, it does not adequately address larger community issues dealing with growth and planning. As such, they have developed outreach programs that seek to engage not just the vocal minority, but the silent majority as well.

One of these programs works with community-based citizen groups, each comprised of approximately 25 people from local businesses, faith communities, schools, and neighborhood residents. These advisory committees work with department employees in planning meetings and community workshops to discuss large-scale planning and development. Whereas before, department staff would engage in public relations and simply provide information on what was to occur, now they work hard to get citizen perspectives and incorporate them into their plans.

Like Clark County, the staff in San Jose has undergone training in facilitation and moderation and is learning to communicate with each other to share knowledge and incorporate what they are learning into their daily work. In addition, their performance reviews also take into account their initiatives in engaging the public. All of this has helped to change the mind-set of the employees. Now they can make long-term commitments toward these practices.

Commitment, however, cannot come solely from the department. It must also come from the citizens. A key challenge is getting beyond the vocal majority and reaching those citizens who do not normally attend community meetings. This cuts across socioeconomic, racial, and gender lines, making it especially difficult. In addition, citizens who are involved often do so for their own pet projects or for the short-term. So keeping them involved is difficult as well. However, these challenges have not stopped the San Jose Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement from continuing to dedicate its time and resources to involving citizens in meaningful ways.

Many governmental agencies are slowly realizing a customer-service orientation is no longer adequate. In order to solve complex community problems, citizens must be involved as active participants in the decision-making process. This does not necessarily require a reorganization or the addition of several new tasks. It can be accomplished through the existing structures with some additional training. Thus, the paradigm can shift, and by engaging citizens from the beginning, administrators are realizing that they can succeed in their goals more easily and efficiently.

Phillip Lurie is a program associate at the Kettering Foundation’s Washington, D.C., office.

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Public Agencies and Citizen Engagement: Getting Beyond the Customer-Service Model

Public Agencies and Citizen Engagement:
Getting Beyond the Customer-Service Model