At least 30 percent of the Dutch population has difficulty understanding government texts.
Comprehensibility of the text is hindered by unfamiliar words and long sentences.
Most readers don't know how to follow up after reading a text.
This is one of the findings in the Monitor on the Comprehensibility of Government Texts, a study based on over 200 texts about payment or healthcare.
The study provides insights into the comprehensibility, applicability and perception of the texts.
The researchers provide several recommendations:
Improve search functionality or offer personalized information to assist with longer texts.
By consistently focusing on one central goal per text, applicability can be increased.
Perception of the texts can be improved by using the right tone, addressing the reader appropriately and by providing contact persons.
Finally, the researchers recommend conducting ongoing research on texts, including measuring the impact of improvements.
The key value of this study is in the powerful combination of three methods:
automatic text analysis,
check interviews conducted by government communication professionals,
structured interviews with individuals with different backgrounds and reading levels.
The combined approach of these methods is highly suitable for organizations to monitor text quality themselves.
The monitor also recommends investigating the communication process with citizens:
how do texts connect with each other? and what are the related improvement points?
Involving users in the design process of products and services helps to include their perspective in setting up communication and service delivery processes.
More information and the full report are available from the website of the Union for the Dutch Language (Taalunie).
The Monitor of Government Texts' Comprehensibility was conducted by Utrecht University and HAN University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the Union for the Dutch Language (Taalunie) and with the support of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.