Proposing a Model of New Public Services with an Urban Sustainable Development Approach in Municipalities

Abstract

In today’s challenging world, the provision of public services requires a fundamental re-evaluation grounded in the principles of sustainability and participatory governance. Urban sustainable development necessitates a model that goes beyond traditional approaches, addressing the environmental, social, and institutional dimensions of public services. This study, employing a qualitative and interpretivist approach, aimed to design a model for new public services with an emphasis on the requirements of sustainable development in the urban context of Iran. The research adopted a qualitative methodology. In the model design phase, the statistical population included faculty members from the fields of public administration, urban management, urban planning, and city development at higher education institutions, as well as mayors, city council members, and senior municipal managers across the country. In the validation phase, the population consisted of experts and practitioners familiar with the subject matter in Mazandaran Province. In the qualitative section, 19 experts were selected using the snowball sampling method. In the validation phase, 17 experts were selected using purposive sampling. The data collection tools included semi-structured interviews in the qualitative section and an expert validation checklist in the validation section. For data analysis, thematic analysis was applied in the qualitative phase using initial coding, theme development, and theme refinement through Atlas.ti software. In the validation phase, the Delphi method was conducted in three rounds using SPSS software. To ensure validity and reliability in the qualitative section, procedures such as acceptability (expert review) and confirmability (expert audit) were employed. In the validation phase, the content of the expert validation checklist was confirmed by several academic and organizational experts for clarity and comprehensibility. Its reliability was calculated and confirmed through the test-retest method with a coefficient of 0.88. According to the results of the qualitative section, the final model comprised six main themes: (1) sustainable and participatory governance, (2) social justice and inclusive service delivery, (3) sustainable resource and environmental management, (4) technology and innovation in public services, (5) economic sustainability and financial empowerment, and (6) civic education and cultural promotion. These themes included 24 sub-themes and 96 indicators. The results of the validation phase confirmed the main and sub-themes identified in the qualitative section.