There is one thing which has followed me throughout my whole working life and every single position of administration I have had the pleasure of working in: you cannot demand someone trust you; they have to trust you through means other than your demanding something from them!
People generally are always going to look to the outcome of what happens with public organisations and how well they have executed the outcome that they were supposed to deliver (whether it was having built a road on time etc) so looking at the end result does matter but I have come to believe there is another element to public organisations that affects how much people will trust public organisations is what and how well they communicate the reasons behind why they did the things to create the outcome that they have created.
For example, early on in my career I realised that a majority of citizens were voicing uncertainties about an action taken (i.e., disagreement) on a decision that had been made and it was very seldom that the cause of the disagreement was the action itself; the majority of the concern expressed came from the fact that the reason(s) for the action taken had not been adequately communicated to them. Once you have communicated to citizens the context, limitations and desired outcomes associated with the policy or decision taken by a public organisation, they will typically engage in an appropriate manner (constructively) even if they have a differing opinion on the action that was taken.
Transparency is a meaningful tool, but a lot of people are confused about what transparency actually entails.
In many instances, transparency is thought of as just making information available, but there is a huge distinction between simply providing information and providing clear communication around the decision made via the information. Citizens should not be consistently challenged with trying to understand the impact to their lives through multiple levels of administrative language used in making the decisions.
In my work as a public servant, I am charged with the responsibility of not just implementing policy, but also explaining the policy in a way that is clear and makes sense to the average citizen. By providing clear communication regarding the policies and decisions that are made, public servants can create increased trust; increase opportunities for positive involvement; and increase the strength of the relationship between the public service and the community being served.
One of the most expected outcomes of transparency is the opportunity for constructive feedback. There is not a one-way communication method of governance; the strongest public services listen just as much as they provide information through communication. Constructive feedback provides administrations the opportunity to improve areas of service that they may have overlooked otherwise.
I have found accountability and transparency to be very well aligned; when a public service is transparent, they become accountable. As accountability improves, so does the level of performance of the public service. When the level of performance of the public service consistently improves, the level of confidence in the public service increases.
Credibility is how confidence becomes a high-value asset to a public institution.
Credibility is one of the greatest assets that a public institution can possess in today's digital age, where information travels quickly, and expectations change rapidly, creating a gap in communication which erodes public trust far more quickly than ever before. Therefore, institutions should not merely concentrate on providing information but also on providing that information in a timely, accessible and easily understood manner.
When people understand that information is being provided in a timely, accessible and easily understood manner, they will be more likely to become actively involved in their communities. Active participation by informed citizens will often yield new ideas, new methods of identifying problems and collaborating on solutions. The greatest examples of progress by government and the community occur when both parties work collaboratively towards a common goal.
Throughout my career, I have seen time after time that when citizens comprehend what government is doing, they are more likely to support the efforts of that agency. The more that citizens can understand both the purpose for why an action was taken and the amount of effort put forth to implement it will result in an increase in trust.
To summarise, transparency changes authority into trust, and trust is the key element of effective governance. Trust supports institutions, increases public participation and creates a climate of opportunity for achieving substantial progress.
Understanding how to trust public institutions starts with creating a high level of transparency for the public.
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