Ethos Perspectives

Public Governance and Public Trust

Standards and Transparency
Promoting greater understanding about government and government processes could help to improve citizens’ trust in government. An open government instils confidence that public interest would be taken into account and that citizens would be informed about the trade-offs involved in decision-making. To do so, the government has to actively disseminate key information on its policies and decision-making to the public. ²

The government needs to be guided by a set of principles and standards that are consistent with citizens’ beliefs about government, and these principles must be fair and equitable for citizens. Government must also honour agreements and promises, to maintain its credibility. ³ Not only are robust internal controls—standards, processes, codes of conduct and targets—important in engendering public trust in the government, agencies must also communicate the existence of these internal controls. ⁵

Openness and transparency reassure citizens and inspire their trust, which will serve the government well even in the event of lapses. "It is difficult but trust is strengthened when the public service admits to mistakes rather than trying to cover them up". ⁵ It may also be useful to give people more unbiased information on the government. Otherwise, people’s perceptions of government would be shaped largely by rumours, which could hurt the reputation of the government. ⁶

Participation in Decision-Making
Citizens should also be given opportunities to participate in decision-making. If they feel part of the political process, they would develop more confidence in the government, and better-informed about policies. ² They would be less likely to have misperceptions and be easily swayed by a sensational media. For citizens to trust their government, they need to believe that they can affect decision-making. ⁴

Values and Ethos
Several studies refer to the importance of maintaining certain values and ethos throughout the government, to build up perceptions of its trustworthiness. The public sector needs to embed itself with values to maintain ethical standards, moral integrity and staff morale in order to assure citizens. ⁵

In fact, it has been further suggested that citizens tend to trust in government if they feel that government shows ‘benevolence’ or a genuine concern for its citizens. ³ When government and public officials are willing to help citizens even when they are not required to do so or receive no extrinsic rewards for such behaviour, citizens’ trust in government will be inspired. "After all, attaining government trustworthiness necessitates public-serving government employees who can make sacrifices for the well-being of the larger public."

Comments
The Singapore Public Service has traditionally been known for its excellent service delivery and reputation of integrity and non-corruptibility. This largely explains our track record of good governance. While these accomplishments affirm that we are on the right track, the case studies of diminished trust in government, despite improvements in government performance, serve a cautionary tale.

As Public Service officers, how can we better explain and communicate policy rationales and trade-offs, and empathise and engage with citizens, so as to develop better understanding and buy-in for policies and programmes rolled out for the citizenry? How can we make improvements in the areas of openness and transparency, on citizen participation, and values and ethos? Are we able to match the rising expectations of our citizenry or is the gap widening?

This issue of Ethos Perspectives hopes to leave readers thinking harder and deeper on how to further strengthen public trust and improve public governance.

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