The New Public Service model approaches public management
from the vantage point of democratic theory, premised on
the notion of an active and involved citizenship. Citizens
look beyond narrow self-interest to the wider public interest
and the role of public officials is to facilitate opportunities
for strengthening citizen engagement in finding solutions to
societal problems. Public managers need to acquire skills that
go beyond capacity for controlling or steering society in pursuit
of policy solutions to focus more on brokering, negotiating and
resolving complex problems in partnership with citizens. In
seeking to address wider societal needs and develop solutions
that are consistent with the public interest, governments will
need to be open and accessible, accountable and responsive,
and operate to serve citizens. Prevailing forms of accountability
need to extend beyond the formal accountability of public
servants to elected officials in the management and delivery
of budgets and programmes to accommodate a wider set of
accountability relationships with citizens and communities.
Finally, the NPS approach also reasserts the importance of a public service ethos, emphasizing the values and motivations
of public servants dedicated to the wider public good