「回應」概念雖為學者討論官僚民主行政以及民主治理的重要概念,但往往僅限於「回應」名詞的使用,未進一步闡釋其旨意;或囿於「顧客服務」內涵之引申,過於狹隘。本文目的在嘗試建立一個官僚組織回應的概念性架構,以增進官僚組織的回應能力,並作為後續研究,衡量官僚組織回應的績效指標。本文認為服務品質是官僚組織回應的重要意涵,但欲求回應具體有效,更須提昇解決社會問題的能力,以及尊重民主的價值與程序。其次,為提昇官僚組織的回應能力,政府推動政策,思考適當的制度性工具時,行政機關應秉持公私協力的理念,透過政策網絡,主動結合企業、非營利組織與公民團體,以增進政策品質與便利政策執行。
In order to improve the capacity of public bureaucracies that can become more responsive to societal needs and goals, the purpose of this research is to conceptualize the notion of bureaucratic responsiveness. Most scholars maintain that responsiveness is one of the main values in a constitutional democracy, however, the notion of responsiveness has rarely been thoughtfully defined. This essay suggests that, in order to be properly responsive to citizen preferences and to deal with societal problems effectively, public bureaucracies must be concerned with the whole range of policy instruments and institutions for collective action available to a modern society. Service delivery remains a critical component of citizen satisfaction that detennines whether bureaucratic responsiveness is successful. However, citizens’ satisfaction with bureaucratic responsiveness is not confined to service delivery, but includes public bureaucracies’ integrity, insistence on democratic process and values, and its capacity for resolving societal problems.