Course description: Public services are important to us but are of particular importance in protecting the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society. They are central to achieving the fair and just services to the society. They are also crucial in helping many to achieve the skills they need to be part of the labour market – and thus are vitally important to improving our economic performance. However, our public services are now facing their most serious challenges. This rising demand for public services will take place in an environment of constrained public spending. Reforming the delivery of these services is not only a matter of fiscal necessity. We also have to implement reforms that improve the quality of public services to better meet the needs of the people and the communities they seek to support.

According to the study conducted by different scholars, the civil service of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for centuries was known by weak knowledge, inefficiency, lack of motivation and accountability, and resistant to change. As a result of these and other problems, the civil service has so far not been able to effectively carry out government policies and programs as well as to organize and delivery cost effective services. Consequently, its role in promoting economic and social development remains limited. Besides, the fact that the civil service, on several occasions, has not been able to properly address the rights of service users. Not getting the public services to perform in a fair and equitable manner has contributed to the prevailing negative perception among the public about the efficacy of government institutions and civil servants.

Accordingly, the purpose of this unit is to present the concepts of public service delivery, drawbacks of civil service of Ethiopian, citizen centered service delivery, change management and models for change.