Consumer and Citizen Driven Services

The next wave of public sector reform will have consumer driven services at its centre. Presumptions of consumer driven services lie behind the choices that will be made in CSR07. To promote diversity, public, private and voluntary organisations must combine in joint ventures to provide alternative ways of delivering public services and through different models. It will be a period of huge change, significant opportunities and some risks. Following on from the highly successful 2006 summit, this year’s event debates how consumer and citizen driven engagement can transform public services. Delegates explore what future service markets will look like, the role of users and communities in prescribing public service priorities, as well as set out the pace of change. Key themes discussed included mechanisms for managing consumer driven services by public authorities; how new providers will emerge across different services; the risks to existing services of not adapting and how in practice the consumer/citizen will be empowered to make tough service decisions.