Public Participation in Quality Control Development in the Sphere of Social Services: Russia and Other Countries Compared

Abstract

The objective of this article is to explore the forms and capabilities of public influence on the development of social services and the quality of work done by the public sector. The article examines the Russian and foreign experience of public participation in the management of social services by creating public collegial bodies within institutions (organizations). The Russian experience is described through an analysis of the organizational features, membership composition, functional capacity and real activity of public collegial bodies in Russia’s social institutions of education, health, social protection and culture within the 79 subjects of the Russian Federation. Also utilized is expert opinion from members of the Boards of Trustees and heads of various agencies, as well as experts from NGOs, which altogether form the basis of 159 in-depth structured interviews. Foreign experience of public participation in the social sphere is represented with reference to the example of countries such as Great Britain, Denmark, Germany, France, and USA. A critical comparison of the potential capabilities of these collegial bodies within real practice in Russia and abroad has allowed to us conclude that there is a significant number of formal and informal barriers in the Russian case to public participation in the social sphere and lead us to offer some suggestions for its future development.