Publication: Human Rights-Based Assessment Tool for Citizen Service Centers: Moving Toward a Rights-Based Approach in Design, Strategy, and Implementation
Loading...
Files in English
978 downloads
Published
2017-06
ISSN
Date
2017-06-30
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This note provides practical advice on how to adopt a human rights-based assessment for the design, strategy, and implementation of service delivery by citizen service centers. Designed for World Bank teams conducting preliminary assessments, the tool presented here can also beuseful to clients such as citizen service center managers to deepen their understanding of the value of a human rights based assessment and to improve the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of service delivery. The tool consists of an introduction to the human rights-based approach (HRBA), its relevance to citizen service centers, rationales for adopting the approach, and a 20-question survey instrument.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Pfeil, Helene; Schott, Berenike; Agarwal, Sanjay. 2017. Human Rights-Based Assessment Tool for Citizen Service Centers: Moving Toward a Rights-Based Approach in Design, Strategy, and Implementation. Citizen Service Centers;No. 5. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27486 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The City of Pancevo’s Citizen Service Center, Serbia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)This case study provides an overview of the Pan evo Citizen Service Center (CSC), which, since its establishment in 2009, has delivered a variety of municipal services to citizens under one roof. It examines the measures established by the municipal team to guarantee equal access to services for all segments of the population and to improve the quality of service delivery, notably by migrating certain procedures online and providing citizens with rapid feedback mechanisms. While institutional coordination, funding, staff motivation, and capacity to meet demand remain challenges, the CSC has become a key focal point for the municipality, with the number of citizens visiting the center each year almost equaling the city’s inhabitants. Successes achieved through this local-level, one-stop-shop model include easier access, greater efficiency, faster delivery, improved communication, and better quality of information for citizens.Publication Municipal Citizen Service Centers in Southeastern Europe(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)This report presents the results of an online survey administered in six southeastern European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The survey was aimed at gathering insights related to the operations and human rights approach of municipalone-stop shops delivering services to citizens. Findings show that the region’s municipal citizen service centers are generally aware of the impact that their activities have on human rights. In addition to complying with legal requirements to guarantee the rights of citizens and avoid discriminatory practices in service delivery, many citizen service centers actively promote universal access to public services. This is mostly accomplished by taking measures that foster theinclusion of vulnerable groups and by offering mechanisms that encourage participation and accountability, such as citizen feedback and complaint-handling mechanisms.Publication Recent Developments and Key Considerations Impacting the Operations of One-Stop Shops for Citizens(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)Countries across the globe are establishing new and improving existing citizen service centers (CSCs) to better serve their citizens. This note provides an overview of recent developmentsimpacting CSC operations as well as a CSC design guide meant to summarize essential issues that managers looking to establish CSCs may wish to consider. Part 1 lays out how four key themes—access, personalization, speed, and interaction—have shaped the latest innovations in citizenservice center design. These themes are linked to the increasing availability and spread of new technologies, which open new channels for governments to provide information and services to their citizens, and expand the potential for multichannel approaches. Based on these trends, part 2presents a CSC design guide which provides an overview of eight key issues to take into account when designing or reforming a CSC: (1) channels of service delivery; (2) depth of service delivery; (3) financing models; (4) organizations involved and breadth of services provided; (5) single or multiple windows; (6) homogeneity/diversity across CSCs; (7) location; and (8) if services are provided by target group, life event or category of service.Publication One-Stop Shops in Vietnam(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)This case study analyzes the development of one-stop shops in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, from inception of the first one in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995 through the full roll out of this model of integrated service delivery across the country, beginning in 2003. Embedded in the spirit of the “Doi Moi” reforms that began in the 1980s, one-stop shops have been an integral part of the government’s public administration reform program, initiated in 2001. Political support, decentralization, clear guidelines regarding organizational structure, and significant capital investment allowed the one-stop shop model to successfully transform the attitudes of civil servants toward the public, reduce bureaucracy, inefficiencies, and rent seeking, and improve the quality of services delivered.Publication Citizen Service Centers in Kenya(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06)This case study analyzes the Huduma Kenya program, under which the Government of Kenya is advancing citizen-centered public service delivery through a variety of channels, including deploying digital technology and establishing citizen service centers across the country. The paper examines key topics related to the operation, from institutional arrangements, funding, and staffing to digitization, organizational culture, and customer feedback. The program has beenparticularly successful at forging an organizational culture focused on excellence in customer service, which revolves around improving transparency, efficiency, and integrity. This organizational culture helps motivate staff and level the playing field for citizens of all backgrounds to get equal service and treatment from the same place, an important step toward enhancing accessibility and nondiscrimination. The Huduma Kenya program takes a multichannel approach, combining brick-and-mortar centers with digital service platforms to ensure that citizens with differing levels of literacy and access to the Internet are reached while still keeping pace with the latest technological developments. To date, the primary challenges encountered in the rollout of the Huduma Centers concern the coordination among the various institutions involved in their management, staffing, and oversight; and the deployment of staff incentives related to compensation and professional development.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.Publication Reforming Justice(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-09)This note explores the use of technology to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of judicial service delivery. It examines how technological solutions can support streamlining internal court processes, facilitate access for court users, and support the quality of judicial decisions through legal drafting and research tools. The note also emphasizes the importance of framing judicial digitalization within the broader context of public service modernization. This approach goes beyond mere automation and technological tools, encompassing the standardization of court operations, rationalizing processes, and developing regulatory frameworks that enable digital justice while protecting citizens’ rights to a fair trial, privacy, and security. Additionally, the Note highlights the importance of supporting all stakeholders in interacting with new digital technologies to build capacity and trust in digital justice systems, ensuring that these reforms are inclusive and effectively implemented.Publication CPIA Africa, July 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-10)In 2024, public protests emphasized the urgent need for reforms in service delivery, focusing on efficiency and social justice amid tight fiscal conditions. The latest CPIA report notes that, despite a stable overall score, essential services must be strengthened for inclusive and sustainable growth. It highlights the need for government mobilization to address the needs of the African population in the face of limited external financing. While short-term economic improvements are noted, public dissatisfaction remains, underscoring the necessity for efficient service delivery.Publication Reforming Justice(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-09)Adequate budgeting of the judiciary is critical for the effective delivery of justice. This brief presents trends in judicial budgets. Courts account for less than 2 percent of total government expenditure on average, with significant portions dedicated to fixed costs such as salaries, thereby limiting investments in technological advancements essential for improving judicial efficiency. This brief identifies three major trends in judicial budgeting reforms: increasing autonomy for the judiciary in budget management, accountability for budget execution at the court level, and a shift toward performance-based budgeting models. These reforms aim to bolster the judiciary's operational efficiency and public perception, ultimately linking adequate judicial funding to enhanced social and economic outcomes. The findings emphasize the necessity for judicial leaders to continuously advocate for resources by demonstrating the judiciary’s integral role in maintaining law and order, promoting democracy, and fostering societal stability.