Gemeente Groningen - Project 'Communicating with impact'

Gemeente Groningen

Communicating with Impact (CmI) is part of the "Comprehensive Approach to Poverty and Debt" program of the municipality of Groningen. We are researching and improving how the municipality communicates about income programs and debt assistance. As a municipality, we offer various income support programs for residents on low incomes. These include for example a laptop program for school-aged children, reimbursement for swimming lessons, and a white goods program for household appliances. We regularly inform residents about these programs through various channels.  

We aim to ensure that as many residents as possible find and utilize this support. However, we're receiving signals from the field that residents with a non-Dutch language or cultural background often make less use of this service. The lack of information in other languages is often assumed as cause for this. A common suggestion is to translate all information into English.

Yet, we have little insight into the extent and causes of this potential underuse. Is it primarily a lack of knowledge (possibly due to language barriers)? Do cultural factors play a role? Or are there other obstacles? We also don't know exactly which language groups are most affected. After all, Groningen is home to people with approximately 180 different nationalities. 

In practice, we also see that residents with limited knowledge of the Dutch language often find their own solutions—for example, through the help of neighbours or children who do speak Dutch. At the same time, a literal translation may not take cultural differences into account, which can strongly influence how information is received and understood. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that non-Dutch-speaking residents will automatically understand English well enough to access this information.

We would ask students to dive into one or two of the biggest target audiences and try to help us with the following issue:

- What can the municipality do in its communications (either by itself or through partners) to reduce these barriers, so that non-Dutch-speaking people are also better able to find and use the programs to which they are entitled?

We believe the following aspects are relevant to this assignment:

• Are (some) groups of non-Dutch-speaking people actually using our programs less than expected, or do they experience additional barriers? If so, which groups are affected?
• What are the reasons for this lower use? Is it due to the lack of knowledge, culture, or other factors?
• How do different language groups currently overcome language and cultural barriers themselves, and what can we learn from this?
• What experiences/best practices regarding communication about this topic exist elsewhere in the Netherlands or abroad, and can we adopt them?

This assignment can be done in a group of 2 to 4 students.