Govt., UNDP launch nationwide citizen feedback platform for public services
COLOMBO ‒ The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, on Thursday (10) launched SL-PULSE | ජනරිදම් | ஜனரிதம், a nationwide digital platform designed to capture citizens’ experiences with public services and support evidence-based governance reforms.
Described as Sri Lanka’s first comprehensive citizen-centred governance measurement platform, SL-PULSE, Sri Lanka’s Public User-Linked Service Evaluation for Governance, will gather public feedback on services provided through District and Divisional Secretariats across all 25 districts.
The initiative, which has received Cabinet approval, is part of the government’s broader public sector reform agenda aimed at building a more citizen-focused, transparent, accountable and responsive public administration system.
Through a combination of open public participation, community-based field surveys and independent university-led household surveys, SL-PULSE is expected to collect between 13,000 and 15,000 responses from citizens across the country.
Ministry Secretary S. Alokabandara said the initiative marked a significant shift in how public service delivery would be assessed and improved.
“SL-PULSE marks a turning point in how we understand and improve public service delivery in Sri Lanka. For the first time, citizens across all 25 districts will have a direct and systematic channel to share their experiences with the services they receive from the 341 Divisional Secretariats,” he said.
He said the initiative would help authorities identify administrative bottlenecks, strengthen transparency and accountability, and design reforms based on citizens’ experiences.
“This is not simply a survey, it is the foundation of a citizen-centred governance system,” Alokabandara added, urging the public to participate in the national exercise.
The platform will assess citizens’ experiences across key areas of governance, including civic participation, accountability, transparency, corruption control, administrative procedures, service delivery, environmental governance and disaster resilience, and digital governance.
The data collected is expected to generate a national citizen feedback database, provide governance insights at the divisional level, assess the quality and accessibility of public services, and support recommendations for improving service delivery.
UNDP Sri Lanka Resident Representative Azusa Kubota said citizen-generated evidence could play a key role in strengthening governance and public trust.
“Across the world, UNDP has supported governments to firmly place citizens’ voices at the heart of governance reforms,” she said, welcoming the Government’s decision to roll out the country’s first nationwide survey aimed directly at gathering public feedback on service delivery.
Kubota said international experience had demonstrated how citizen feedback could help improve transparency, accountability and public services while strengthening trust in institutions.
“SL-PULSE brings those global lessons to Sri Lanka through a locally owned and nationally led approach, providing decision-makers with timely insights from citizens while helping shape more responsive and effective public services,” she added.
The government said the initiative is expected to support policy reforms, institutional improvements and performance monitoring at both national and local levels.
By placing citizens’ experiences at the centre of evaluating services delivered through Divisional Secretariats, SL-PULSE is expected to provide authorities with direct insights into how frontline public services are experienced across the country.
Over time, the initiative aims to institutionalize citizen feedback within Government decision-making processes and establish a sustainable mechanism for improving public service delivery, while providing a model that could be expanded to other ministries and public institutions.
–ENCL
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