Approaches to the Formation of Public Services Quality Indices

Abstract

The article considers the basic methodological and practical problems of forming requirements to the quality of public services. To address the problems identified, the article attaches a step by step methodology for forming a science-based system of indicators of the quality of public services. The first step is the division of quality indicators into two groups in accordance with the normative acts in which they should be reflected. The second step relates to the use of the “integral quality of public services” categories. The third, and the final step, is to use a problem-based approach to the forming of a quality   evaluation indicators system of each definite public service or a number of services.

Conclusions: 1) A high degree of heterogeneity of the practice regulation and re-registration of public and municipal services in Russia’s regions testify to the absence of unified methodological approaches to the definition of the quality of public services. 2) Unification of requirements to the quality of public services is hampered by the ambiguity of the interpretation of the notion of public and municipal services in the Russian legislation. 3) The proposed method of forming indicators of the quality of public services is set up on the stepwise application of the basic approaches to the determination of the quality of services:  focus on the customer (supplier); “integral quality”; problem-oriented approach. 4) Results of the approbation of the method on the materials of Tomsk region indicate to the broad applicability of this approach that may become one of the main elements of managing (systematizing) public services and improving the quality of reform-oriented services to the population.