Trust is our willingness to rely on others to act in our best interests, even when we can't directly control or monitor their actions. It's a fundamental part of how we interact and function as a society, as we expect consistent and positive outcomes from those we trust. While research has given us valuable insights into trust, it can sometimes complicate the basics.

At its core, trust boils down to three key elements: reliability—getting what we expect; fairness—feeling we deserve it; and transparency—having the ability to verify it. The way trust is delivered also matters, as the execution can greatly influence our perceptions.

This white paper explores these concepts and offers practical, tech-driven strategies for governments to rebuild trust and improve service delivery.

Key recommendations

1. Adopt modern service delivery channels to deliver end-to-end outcomes over fractured user experience. Invest in secure building digital public infrastructure to enable a higher maturity level of services.

2. Establish clear rules in data ownership, legitimate use of personal data by institutions, data protection and rules that make physical and digital transactions and services legally equal. Provide clear interpretation of rules.

3. Create services that enable real-time transparency concerning the use of personal data. Adopt mechanisms such as targeted transparency to increase voluntary compliance.

4. Ensure continuous small improvements in public service delivery over large reforms. Create procurement rules to enforce the mechanism. Utilize incentives and nudging strategies to shift users towards higher levels of voluntary compliance over time.