“Subletting does not entitle you to municipal housing benefit” Do you wonder what this means? “You live in the home yourself and do not rent it out to others (subletting)” Was it easier to understand? Both sentences should convey the same thing, and are taken from Bergen municipality’s form “Application for housing benefit”. NOK 12,000 a year on one form The municipality has now achieved good results by changing the text in the form to so-called plain language. Commissioned by KS (organisation of the municipal sector), Menon Economics has investigated the effect of case managers in Norwegian municipalities using simple language. For Bergen’s part, the report states that the municipality failed to send almost 200 deficiency letters to people who did not understand the housing support form and therefore must be prompted. This corresponds to a saving of NOK 12,000 a year, on one form, according to economists. The municipality has well over 100 different forms for different purposes such as applications, orders and messages. Before and after the changes Bergen municipality made to the housing support application A lot of work – Many people contacted us saying that the housing support form was difficult to fill out. The Housing Authority had to send out a number of letters afterwards, in order to get more information, says Tine Grüner Larsen. She is the leader of the WeB group for Employee Service in Bergen municipality. Another place in the form is the question “Is anyone in the household serving military service?” replace with “Is anyone in the residence in the military (first time service)?” – There is less emphasis on legal language, and instead words that people understand. We have received a lot of good and positive feedback, says Grüner Larsen. Here is some of the feedback the municipality has received: “It was so easy to find the form and fill it in” “Quick and easy to apply and very clear what is being asked for and what is required of documentation” “I think this is one of the easiest the digital forms. There are simple concrete questions that make it easy to understand and answer” HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: Tine Grüner Larsen in Bergen municipality. She is the leader of the WeB group in Ansattservice and has good experience of using simple language in application forms for residents. Photo: Anne Margrete Markestad / Bergen municipality Can give up to 300 percent return Economists at Menon Economics have concluded that Norwegian municipalities have at least a 30 percent return on investing in plain language. In some cases, the return can reach 300 percent. According to them, for every kroner invested in clear language, there is a return of 1.3 to 4 kroner. – It is a very high return. And let me underline; very conservative assumptions have been made, says Simen Pedersen, who is a social economist and partner in Menon Economics. Time and money saved Tønsberg municipality has also taken part in the investigations. They have changed the wording of an invoice, which has led to fewer people contacting the municipality. – It is not certain that you save as much in kroner and øre, but you get a lot more time, says Pedersen. He believes it will enable the municipality to offer better services. – The benefits I see here are both time saved for the municipality, time saved and less paperwork and worries for the users. In addition, trust increases as a result. This is what the Language Act says about clear language This is what the Language Act says about clear language: §9 Clear language Public bodies must communicate in clear and correct language that is adapted to the target group. DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR: Marie Axelsen in KS. Photo: KS KS: Raise the quality of the municipality’s services Kristin Weidemann Wieland is director of research, innovation and digitalisation in the municipal sector’s organization (KS). – Although we know that it makes sense to have clear language, we have lacked figures on exactly how much money it may involve and how much the public can save. Before now, says Wieland. Department director in KS, Marie Axelsen, believes the report shows that clear language raises the quality of the services that the municipality must offer its citizens. And that it becomes easier to understand what you are entitled to as a resident. – Maybe you will gain more trust in your municipality. We believe that this new knowledge will be an important support for municipalities that wish to work with clearer language. Because I now see that it both works and pays to work systematically with language, says Axelsen.
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The public sector can save large sums in simple language – news Vestland
