Innovation project on comprehensible content
In cooperation with Botkyrka municipality and Linnaeus University in Sweden, Funka develops a method of making municipal information more accessible and understandable for persons with a mother tongue other than the official national one. Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency is funding the research.
Information from authorities can be difficult to understand and make use of. It is quite common to use texts in an easy-to-read format to all target groups that struggle with text, although those persons may have very different and specific needs depending on why they find reading challenging. The lack of relevant and targeted information may become particularly apparent to migrants who wish nothing more than to understand and enter the society of their new country.
The project builds upon experiences from previous research, where we tested various ways of informing and instructing people with different types of cognitive impairments. In addition, we have tested how automatic translations work and how to use them in a qualitative way.
Implementation
Through interviews and tests, we investigate how users in the target group understand different types of municipal information. We analyse the result, process the material and test it again, in different formats and versions, with and without images, illustrations and automatic speech. Each iteration is tested with users and further developed during the course of the project. Linnaeus University contributes with scientific methodology to ensure that results can be replicable in other contexts. The aim of the project is to develop a method that all municipalities and others can use for effective communication with persons with a foreign mother tongue.
Funding: Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency (Grants for Normcritical innovation 2018)
Consortium: Funka (project coordinator), Botkyrka municipality and The Department of Media and Journalism at Linnaeus University.
Period: June 2018 – April 2020
Budget: EUR 180 000