System of systems approach for investigating public service system

Abstract

Public services and demands for increasing efficiency of the public administration have been in public spotlight and on the political agenda for at least last twenty years in Latvia. In Europe and the USA this trend has been going even longer. Nevertheless, the public services and their systems are still object of the research. The aim of this study is to test the suitability of the system of systems (SoS) approach for describing and researching public service system and to identify new dimensions in the understanding of the public services. The SoS approach means that the object under study is defined not as the single system, which should be managed from a single point, but as an association of several systems, where each element of the system is independent and has its own goals, tasks and interests. In order to investigate the suitability of the method, it is tested for one service, describing this service from point of view of different actors involved. The result of the study shows that investigating the public service with SoS method can reveal new dimensions of this service and gain in-depth understanding of the impact of the service process on the parties involved and society as whole.