Boosting the public sector – the Danish Quality Reform

Has the reform had the intended effect, or are further efforts required?

In 2007, the Danish government introduced the Quality Reform, which was to give the public sector a quality boost in the shape of simplification of rules, higher efficiency as well as increased focus on management and managerial development.

What has happened since then? Has the reform had the intended effect, or are further efforts required? Those are questions to be answered by the speakers at the conference on the Quality Reform. The conference is organised by CBS and FORUM.

Focus on higher efficiency

- The Quality Reform has managed to bring focus to routine simplification and streamlining in the public sector, and it has promoted creative thinking. In the tax area, digitalisation has brought on higher efficiency and simplification of workflows, and the tax payers are now primarily serviced by means of self-service, says Programme Director Kristoffer Brix Bertelsen, CBS Executive, who is one of the speakers at the conference on the Quality Reform.

Need for new management competences

As a consequence of the demand for higher efficiency and great results, the public sector has attracted more interest than before. At the same time, people’s expectations to the service level have increased concurrently with the economic upswing.

- There is also a need for other managerial competences in the public sector, which up until now has focused on personal leadership. In the future, we need to see the managers' roles as a part of the wider picture. It is the managers' job to make sure that the tasks are performed as efficiently as possible, but public organisations also need to be attractive and challenging workplaces. The management should trust its employees and focus on creating great environments for performance of tasks, says Kristoffer Brix Bertelsen.