Plain Language Workshops

OBJECTIVE
This project came up with the construction of the LabX Plain Language methodology to support public entities to adopt simple writing in their communication. The goal is to put the public servants who write communications to face their target readers and adapt the communication according to the feedback received. This allows entities to effectively focus their communication on their readers, improving administrative efficiency and citizen participation. 

BENEFICIARIES
This project benefits the work of the communication or content editors teams and those who work in public administration, directly benefiting citizens and businesses that receive this communication.

APPROACH 
The adoption of plain language to communicate clearly and in an accessible way with the target audience has been a concern of many governments around the world. It is in this context that LabX has developed a methodology to help public entities to easily apply good writing practices in their internal communications, involving their readers. It is based on the experiences of DNP – Departamento Nacional de Planeación (Colombia) with the “Laboratorios de Simplicidad” and of Lab11 – Laboratório de Inovação Pública da Prefeitura de São Paulo (Brazil) with the “Programa Municipal de Linguagem Simples”.

After the experimental phase of the methodology, in a Citizens’ Shop and with the Portuguese Tax Authority, the design of the methodology was consolidated with the adoption of 6 steps, all to be carried out collaboratively within the entity and with its target audience.

MAIN RESULTS 

27 LabX plain language workshops | 29 public entities| 321 public servants | 38 rewritten communications

From the evaluation carried out with public entities and public servants who participated in the workshops, were found the following advantages of its use in a public sector context by allowing to:  

• Know, evaluate and transform communication documents of public entities through empirical knowledge, i.e., confront documents with users in a session between entities and citizens;
  
• Align language with target audience;
  
• To avoid misinterpretation errors, which may eventually cause negative effects to services desk, such as increased affluence and waiting times.

The materials (a “do-it-yourself” handbook, 10 guidelines, and a collaborative sessions guide) are designed to be replicated and used by public servants. LabX will test the methodology and review the materials in iterative cycles with already trained entities.

Article “Promover o uso de linguagem clara e útil na comunicação do Estado”

Training

Plain Language Workshops

Presentation of the Plain Language Workshops.

See the document in its Portuguese version

HANDBOOK

Plain Language Workshops

This “do-it-yourself” handbook explains how each of us, within our Public Administration entities, can transform documents or communications, addressed to citizens, from a complexity technical language to a more simple language.

See the document in its Portuguese version