Lean thinking and resource efficiency in the design of public services

Efficiency in public service organisations is often driven by the need to reduce costs and increase productivity due to the economic and government pressure to make the best use of reduced resources. However, efficiency in public services can go beyond cost cutting, thinking about how organisations design and deliver their service offerings to achieve better outcomes while using the government fund more efficiently to turn public money into positive outcomes for both individuals and society. Through a combined method of literature review and interviews, the authors aim to systematically collect and analyse existing contributions on the current public services design and how Lean Thinking can promote resource efficiency in public service organisations, followed by validating the results through interviews in different public organisations focusing on the role of human resources in the services design. The findings suggest that implementing Lean Thinking allows public service organisations to streamline their resource allocation, eliminate waste, and improve productivity, resulting in more efficient service delivery, user satisfaction, and improved organisational performance. The authors took a panoramic view across different public organisation types, which can be extended through future research on specific organisation types or different regions to explore unique dimensions and find relevant conclusions.