February 4 2009
The project focuses on the ways in which reform of the health and education services can respond to – and even harness the potential of – more assertive citizens.
The report found that we have moved away from deferential service-users towards better informed, more assertive citizens. While bringing numerous benefits, this also raises challenges for professionals. For example, some teachers reported that parents are assertive in aggressive or uncooperative ways. The challenge for policymakers is not simply to accommodate assertive individualism, but to encourage assertiveness that is well informed and socially responsible. The report’s recommendations include:
• Better training for teachers on how to cope with assertive parents
• Teaching young people how to get the most out of public services as part of the citizenship curriculum, and providing better information to new parents via Sure Start
• The establishment of a co-production fund to serve all public service institutions. This would make money available to all public service departments to set up co-production pilots (such as the use of individual budgets)
• The role of professionals must change. For many patients the role of doctors is increasingly to provide assistance in helping them find the way - in the language of the report to act as ‘Sherpas’ helping informed citizens find the best way for them.
Commenting on the report, the lead author, Dr Simon Griffiths, said, "Citizens are more assertive of their rights than ever before. The days of deference are over. This is no bad thing, but the challenge for doctors and teachers is to find ways in which to work with citizens to achieve the results we all want in education and health.”
Dr Tim Wilson, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said. “Public service professionals need to keep in step with the changing nature of the individuals, communities and society they serve. More assertive citizens, imbued with a sense of greater social freedom, triggered by changes in attitudes and better access to information (about their needs and the performance of their public service providers), are forcing public service professionals to face up to a fundamental change in their role – the new professional now needs to be not only an expert in their specialism but also skilled in the art of co-production.”
Editors Notes
A full copy of the report can be found here: http://www.smf.co.uk/assertive-citizens.html
Whilst the report focuses on health and education services, the issues it addresses are pertinent to all public servants, who will be trying to deliver improvements in services, at a challenging economic time, to an increasingly assertive population.
Mark Duman MRPharmS
National Patient Experience Lead
Improvement Foundation
First Floor, Gateway House
Piccadilly South
Email: mark.duman@improve.nhs.uk
Web: www.improvementfoundation.org