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Public Administration vocabulary · Public Services

Public service

Meaning in public administration, with examples

nounCore term

In public administration, public service means: A service provided by the state, or on its behalf, for everyone in society, such as health care, education, transport or rubbish collection; also the work of people employed by the state.

In Turkish: kamu hizmeti, kamu görevi

How it is used

In the plural, public services usually means the services themselves: funding for public services, access to public services. In the singular it can mean working for the state: a career in public service. Public service broadcasting is a fixed phrase.

Example sentences

  1. Rural areas often have poorer access to public services such as hospitals and public transport.

  2. After twenty years in public service, he retired as head of the regional office.

Common collocations

  • deliver public services
  • access to public services
  • career in public service
  • public service broadcasting
  • service deliveryThe way public services actually reach the people who use them, including access, speed, quality and the channels through which they are provided.
  • public utilityAn essential service supplied through a network, such as water, electricity, gas or sewerage, or the organization that provides it, whether publicly or privately owned.
  • e-governmentThe use of the internet and digital technology to provide public services and information, so that people and businesses can deal with the state online.
  • civil serviceAll the permanent, non-political staff who work in government ministries and agencies, seen as one body; also the system of rules for hiring and managing them.

More terms: Public Services

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