Jo'Anne Langham

Idea generation and brainstorming are most effective when conducted in groups and in person. However, in‐person co‐creation activities have many limitations. The digital environment provides opportunities to ideate remotely and to enhance creativity. We designed an online experiment to assess the impact of brainwriting on the effectiveness of ideation. Our intention was to determine whether remote digital brainstorming could improve ideation, harnessing diversity in experience and knowledge… Show more

Idea generation and brainstorming are most effective when conducted in groups and in person. However, in‐person co‐creation activities have many limitations. The digital environment provides opportunities to ideate remotely and to enhance creativity. We designed an online experiment to assess the impact of brainwriting on the effectiveness of ideation. Our intention was to determine whether remote digital brainstorming could improve ideation, harnessing diversity in experience and knowledge while problem solving. Results revealed that unusual and novel ideas occurred in approximately 53 percent of cases using our simulated environment. Compared to the presession control activity, ideas generated were more sophisticated and included improvement in all cases. Our experiment demonstrates that digital brainwriting can significantly improve the quality and quantity of new ideas. Show less

Why is it so hard to interact with government services? The public-sector has become citizen-centred in designing and collaborating with the community to improve service. Even though governments invest in efforts to ensure public administration is aligned with the needs of the community, services still fail to meet the standards provided by equivalent private sector organisations. Citizen experiences fall short of expectations due to inadequate performance evaluation for the delivery of… Show more

Why is it so hard to interact with government services? The public-sector has become citizen-centred in designing and collaborating with the community to improve service. Even though governments invest in efforts to ensure public administration is aligned with the needs of the community, services still fail to meet the standards provided by equivalent private sector organisations. Citizen experiences fall short of expectations due to inadequate performance evaluation for the delivery of integrated and well-designed services. Public sector performance measures must assess and include the impact that services have on citizens.
This paper describes the extension and further development of the XE Measurement Framework. The Framework can be used by public-sector organisations to evaluate effectiveness of citizen experiences based on human-centred, universal and systems thinking heuristics.
Through a multiphase mixed-method design, we test the XE Framework and its operational development with two projects in the Innovation Lab for the Canadian Department Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED). The case studies demonstrate that the XE Framework clearly differentiates the quality of the experience and identifies areas for improvement. Results indicate that the bureaucracy distorted the creation and delivery of the service citizens received. Organisational culture, climate, structures and values significantly shape the outcome and provision of government services, which raises further questions about design and innovation in public administration and the role of accountability.

Keywords: Public sector; public administration; evaluation; design effectiveness; accountability
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This article introduces a new concept for design and evaluation of public services, and taxation in particular. The approach is novel as it draws from multiple domains to construct and propose a measure of administrative effectiveness as an alternative to traditional “service” quality. The article explores the commonalities between service delivery in public administration and the private sector. Exceptional service places the customer at the centre of the experience, achieving a balance… Show more

This article introduces a new concept for design and evaluation of public services, and taxation in particular. The approach is novel as it draws from multiple domains to construct and propose a measure of administrative effectiveness as an alternative to traditional “service” quality. The article explores the commonalities between service delivery in public administration and the private sector. Exceptional service places the customer at the centre of the experience, achieving a balance between the needs of the organisation and those of the customer. Client service may involve more than one interaction, utilising multiple channels and touchpoints. An excellent client experience is created when the customer achieves the desired outcome with a high level of satisfaction and quality. Service quality is achieved through good service design. Show less

This paper introduces a new concept for design and evaluation of public sector services. The approach is novel as it draws from multiple domains to construct and measure Administrative Effectiveness (AE) an alternative to traditional service quality. The paper explores the commonalities between services in public administration with those of the private sector. Administrative effectiveness is defined in terms of absence of citizen error, universal ease of access and the facilitation of the… Show more

This paper introduces a new concept for design and evaluation of public sector services. The approach is novel as it draws from multiple domains to construct and measure Administrative Effectiveness (AE) an alternative to traditional service quality. The paper explores the commonalities between services in public administration with those of the private sector. Administrative effectiveness is defined in terms of absence of citizen error, universal ease of access and the facilitation of the service objective. The paper presents a review of existing literature from service management, human factors, universal design and new public governance to draw together the dimensions of Administrative Effectiveness. Initial results from the first of two studies are presented to show the practical application of the new model. In the taxation policy environment, we use starting an Australian small business as a process test case. Both the Administrative Effectiveness measurement model and the associated citizen-client design are evaluated. The results have significance for all areas of public sector administration. The research also demonstrates how good design can be a pragmatic alternative to enforcement as the principal approach to compliance management.
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This study investigated the factors influencing business tax payers’ decision on whether to report income and deductions correctly in their 2011 income tax return. The proposed model based on Ajzen and Fishbein’s reasoned action approach (the Theory of Planned Behaviour -TPB) has genuine applicability in the tax compliance context. The research was conducted in two phases. Firstly, an online pilot survey was used to elicit salient beliefs in order to construct the primary (TPB) questionnaire… Show more

This study investigated the factors influencing business tax payers’ decision on whether to report income and deductions correctly in their 2011 income tax return. The proposed model based on Ajzen and Fishbein’s reasoned action approach (the Theory of Planned Behaviour -TPB) has genuine applicability in the tax compliance context. The research was conducted in two phases. Firstly, an online pilot survey was used to elicit salient beliefs in order to construct the primary (TPB) questionnaire.

The results show that intention to comply is not always a strong predictor of compliance behaviour. The majority of taxpayers who wanted to comply, failed. As complexity and difficulty in performance increases, additional factors are required to predict compliance, such as awareness of the rules. Complexity also reduces the predictability of behaviour. Behaviour prediction can be enhanced by quantifying environmental complexity, providing performance support, and eliminating potential obstacles. Intention can only be leveraged for compliance strategies when the tax system creates the optimal environment for taxpayers to successfully comply. Show less

To the mainstream population, a taxation authority is an enigmatic and remote force. Most citizens would prefer to have little, if any interaction with such an organisation. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is no exception. The ATO is the sole Commonwealth government agency assigned the role to administer the taxation and superannuation systems. The lesser known focus in the ATO on consultation and collaboration with taxpayers has been the poor cousin to the alter ego of the ‘firm… Show more

To the mainstream population, a taxation authority is an enigmatic and remote force. Most citizens would prefer to have little, if any interaction with such an organisation. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is no exception. The ATO is the sole Commonwealth government agency assigned the role to administer the taxation and superannuation systems. The lesser known focus in the ATO on consultation and collaboration with taxpayers has been the poor cousin to the alter ego of the ‘firm enforcer’. Recently, a focus on improved engagement between the ATO and the taxpaying population led to the development of a prototype community engagement framework. The framework bridges the division between enforcement and collaboration, demonstrating that engagement is a spectrum of professionalism and service delivery. This paper discusses the development of the Effective Engagement Framework, which utilized the ATO’s own co-design methodology. The implementation and evaluation of the methodology are outlined, as well as suggestions for the application of the framework to tax authorities or other compliance agencies in removing the obstacles to improved engagement with the community.
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