Development issues of an institute of an independent assessment of service quality in the social sector of Russia

The institute of an independent assessment of service quality provided by educational, cultural, healthcare and social services institutions has recently begun developing in Russia. The purpose of an independent assessment is to establish the conformity of the services provided to the needs of society, an individual and the state by the consumers themselves. The institute of an independent assessment of service quality has appeared in Russia as a “top-down” initiative mastered by non-profit organizations. The procedure for an independent assessment of social services is regulated and enshrined in legal documents of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the article is to identify promising trends of efficiency increase of the operation of the institute of an independent assessment of service quality and transform it into a current institute of public control using a retrospective analysis of the formation of the institute of an independent assessment of the social service quality in Russia. The research is based on monitoring data conducted by the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, information and analytical materials concerning the condition of civil society and working practice in the Public Chamber of Samara Region. Despite the regulatory changes, the current mechanism for a service quality assessment does not allow to implement the principles of transparency and publicity, of the independence of opinions of citizens, experts and public associations, as well as the voluntary participation in the independent assessment properly. In addition, the subject of an assessment has been substituted - from the quality of the services provided to the conditions of its provision. The study demonstrates that changes of the key non-state participant and adjustment of procedures are not enough to transform the institute of an independent assessment of service quality from a formal institution into a real, efficient institutional arrangement. Social service consumers should participate in the assessment. Moreover, the most efficient and cost-effective ways of considering the opinions of citizens and public associations should be used. Besides, the potential of collective management bodies of social institutions and professional associations should be applied. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the institute of independent assessment of social service quality, being an independent form of organizing social activities, is an integral part of the country's unified social system. Consequently, only complex democratic reforms aimed at the development of civil society can lead to the increase rate of independence in assessing the quality of services and the decrease of transaction costs for the quality assessment of social service. We suggest developing collegial governing system in state and municipal social institutions, extending a list of service providers due to effective non-profit organizations and socially oriented business, providing state funding for social sectors sufficient to maintain modern social standards. These activities are suggested to be a trend for modernization of the institute of independent assessment of social service quality. Further studies will not be devoted to formal and instrumental components of the institute of an independent assessment but will rather concern substantive components of the institute of an independent assessment of the quality of social services on the current international experience basis. The components will include not only the structure of interaction between the participants, but also internal (rather than external) regulators of economic behavior, as well as mechanisms of the formation of a trust element.