Serving Communities, Connecting People - A Relational Public Service approach

The concept of Relational Public Service (RPS) comes from systems thinking, which is a framework for understanding how different elements within a system interact with, and influence one another, allowing for a more comprehensive view of complex issues. Relational Public Service places human relationships at the centre of how the State brings about change in people’s lives, focussing on building meaningful relationships between service providers and users aiming to improve outcomes and trust. It is a transformation approach to public service delivery. But RPS is not a theory—it is a practice. It enables ways of working with people that are responsive to their needs and their context, while also taking seriously the implications of that practice for how organisations learn and change, and how policy and governance shape the conditions in which this practice takes place.

These were the ideas that were explored in an innovative and unique event organised by six government departments during Public Service Transformation Week. At this learning event ‘Serving Communities, Connecting People’ 120 participants gathered in the unique An Lár space on O’Connell Street. Attendees came from government departments, public service bodies, and the community and voluntary sector, all brought together by a shared commitment to exploring how relational practices might shape public services of the future.

The goals of the organisers from the Department of Education and Youth, Department of Health, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Department of Public Expenditure Infrastructure Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, and Department of the Taoiseach were to: broaden the conversation on relational public service; ground it in examples of inspirational practice and explore what this might mean for existing approaches to developing and delivering public services.

The event opened with a ‘story telling’ conversation, with Assistant Secretaries from the six departments, where they talked about the initial idea for the event, and how it came to fruition. This was followed by a keynote speech by guest speaker Professor Toby Lowe, titled: “What is Relational Public Service and Human Learning Systems?” Human Learning Systems (HLS) prioritises learning and co-creation with service recipients and recognises that outcomes cannot be ‘delivered’ by government or service providers —they emerge from the interaction of many actors within and beyond government’s influence. HLS provides a framework, and RPS describes the practice of how this framework can be applied. For more information see Human Learning Systems.

There followed six case studies providing examples of relational working from across a diverse range of public services illustrating how this learning could shape both organisations and wider systems of policy and governance. These presentations illustrated how relational ways of working can be implemented in different settings, from projects in local communities to the co-creation of national strategies. From the case studies, several themes stood out.

• Building and sustaining relationships of trust is fundamental—between workers and those they serve, and across disciplines and contexts.
• Listening emerged as the first step in trust-building, and relational working begins with seeing whole people: “see the person, not the problem”.
• Experimentation, adaptation, and flexibility were highlighted as essential for making relational practice part of everyday work.

Bernie McNally, Secretary General of the Department of Education and Youth, spoke on the topic: “The best way to predict the future is to create”. This was followed by a workshop led by Dr. Joan O’Donnell, titled: “Exploring your situation through a relational lens”, focussing on how each of the attendees could apply the learnings of the day to their own area of work.

The organising group of six departments is now reflecting on all the feedback received and is committed to taking this exploration further. A first step will be to invite those who are interested to consider how they might use the concepts of Relational Public Service and Human Learning Systems in their own work. A full report of the event will be published soon by the Department of the Taoiseach.

In the meantime, if you are interested in finding out more about this work, the organising group would be delighted to hear from you. You can reach them by contacting Anna Visser in the Department of the Taoiseach at anna.visser@taoiseach.gov.ie.