Transcript Administratieve lasten zijn uren / kosten voor burgers en

How to
communicate on
Administrative
Burdens?
Jacqueline Rutjens
Example:
Gert, disability benefit claimant
An example:
Target groups
Mother on social security (Maria)
Volunteer (Henk)
Handicapped child (Bart)
Old person in need (Thea)
Average family (Verstappen)
Vital old person (Mikel)
Chronically ill (Pauline)
Benefit claimant (Gert)
Unemployed (Johan)
39%
0%
11%
25%
0%
25%
14%
0%
30%
25%
0%
16%
25%
0%
26%
25%
0%
20%
25%
0%
19%
25%
0%
12%
25%
0%
25%
These target groups are used for internal and
external communication
Presentation:
Origins Dutch AB programmes
Approach to communication
World bank conclusions on communication
Response to World Bank conclusions
Communication on AB citizens in the future
Recommendations on communication
Origins
Government of Balkenende II
“Citizens feel that the government has insufficient
comprehension of the problems of citizens”
“People complain about the quality of public services.
The distance between government and citizens is too
large”
“The Government wants less rules to provide more
space to citizens and organizations”
Origins
AB leads tot high costs for companies and citizens:
Companies: € 16 bln /yr = 3.6% of Dutch GDP
Citizens:
€ 1,27 bln/yr out-of-pocket-costs
and 112 mln hours/yr
AB leads to much irritation among companies and
citizens: They want comfort and trust in their
relationship with government
Programme Administrative Burdens
Two interdepartemental programmes:
Businesses: coordinated by Ministry of
Economic Affairs and Ministry of Finance
Citizens: coordinated by the Ministry of the
Interior
Reduction target companies and citizens:
25% in december 2007 compared to 2002
Infrastructure: all new regulation has to be
measured and checked by Actal
Ministries have their ‘ ceilings’
Programme Administrative Burdens
So:
- 140 proposals for less regulation on citizens
- Best rewarded: votingsystem and less
informationpolicy
- 25% seems to be a reasonable goal
- Infrastrucure takes care of the ‘ backdoor’
But:
Not all proposals are equally innovative
Not all citizens benefit equally
New cabinet makes new regulations
Some IT backfired
New Programme AB Citizens
Not only quantative, but also qualitatieve
reductions: a noticable reduction of
administrative burdens
New programme focusses around ten
bottlenecks: i.e. waiting lists, plain Dutch,
more trust, quality of government services,
mediation
Focus on target groups: elderly people,
benefit claimants, handicapped and
chronically ill, unemployed and volunteers
Stronger connection with E-government
Strong focus on local government (25% goal)
Approach to Communication:
Citizen in the central position
Goal: to receive the compliments of the Citizen!
Dialogue with target groups.
Questionnaire about highest irritations
regarding Administrative Burdens
Pamphlet with recommendations
Panels of citizens that judge the
measurement aimed at reducing
Administrative Burdens
Channels of communication:
Reports on progress and specific publications
Complaints office and website for citizens:
www.lastvandeoverheid.nl
Website for professionals where news,
documentation and meetings are presented
along the nine role models:
www.burgercentraal.nl
Conferences and seminars
Electronic news letter 6 times a year
Media
Some of our products:
Booklets: nine routes along Dutch bureaucracy
nr. 1 and update (nr. 2)
Booklet on how to write simpler forms
Booklet “a different approach on reaching
noticeable results”
Courses for policy officers
National conferences and meetings
International conference in 2007
Articles in specialist journals
New sources of communication: museum,
short films on the internet
Innovative instruments
Kafka brigade
For specific “from pillar to post” cases
Looking from a citizen’s perspective to a
problem
Aimed at a general solution and not only
this specific case
Complaints office that contact complaintives
within two day and coordinates the answers
from goverment
Museum of abundant policies
Museum of unnecessary policies
People from outside the EU
who want to settle in the
Netherlands for more than 3
months need to obtain an
authorization for temporary
settlement before entering
the Netherlands. Whenever
entering the Netherlands
with this authorization you
also need to obtain a
residence permit within three
days. For both documents
the same information is
needed.
What worked and what didn’t work
(that well) in communication?
Some positive results:
25% target works for civil servants and Actal
Museum has had 10 expositions in half a year
2 of the 10 cases of the Kafka brigade solved
within 4 months
Of the last 400 complaints at the complaints
office 158 have been solved
A citizens panel complimented the programme
on 10 of the 13 presented reductions
From September 2007 all governemental
forms must comply to a norm of simplicity
Reactions on the profiles are very positive:
they are appealing and recognizable
What worked and what didn’t work
(that well)? (2)
Didn’t work as planned:
Communication about 25% target is
problematic
Website for professionals: the page didn’t get
as much pageviews as hoped for an it was
difficult to make it a interactive platform
We don’t receive as much complaints from
citizens as we would like to receive
We learned that citizens don’t recognize the
concept of administrative burdens; so we now
use concepts they know: bureaucracy, red
tape, etc.
World Bank Review (1)
Conclusions concerning communication:
(1) Consult with relevant target groups in order
to target the programme towards problems
perceived as most important and to test the
feasibility of proposed solutions
(2) Improve communication in relation to
expectation management of stakeholders:
involve stakeholders
(3) Communicate results better to the public!
(compare kafka.be)
(4) Be aware of making the operation to
technical and neutral: it’s not! (risk analysis)
World Bank Review (2)
Response to conclusions:
Conclusions (1) and (2) particularly apply to
the business programme. The citizen
programme extensively consults target groups
via: citizens panels, stakeholder groups and
questionnaires
Conclusion (3):The department who achieved
the result (AB reduction), should get the
credits: not the coordinating body. In Belgium
the coordinating body gets all the credits.
Conclusion (4): It is good to have a political
discussion about administrative burdens: only
then it is possible to deal with the difficult AB
World Bank Review (3)
Response to conclusions:
programme AB businesses: strategy
IPAL is working on its strategical vision on
communication
Central:
The government makes it easier
Room for the entrepeneur
Most important starting points:
Entrepeneurs in the central position; look
from their point of view
Management of expectations: there always
will be some rules
Best practices will act as proof of results
World Bank Review (4)
Response to conclusions:
programme AB businesses (2)
Communication via central platform: the
companies counter
One motto with a design that appeal to target
group
Channels:
Selective use of radio, internet and paper
media
Round tables
Use stakeholders in the development of
solutions; hopefully this will also lead to
important spokesmen for the programme
Ideas for further strengthening
communication citizens
New profiles: real people which tell their story
and who can also be present at meetings or
conferences: real stakeholders
Internalization plans: “employment agency”
for civil servants. Civil servants will solve
complaints of citizens themselves
Courses for civil servants on kafka
methodology, plain Dutch, etc.
Better communication with the target groups;
make use of their communication channels,
i.e. magazines, websites.
Recommendations
Personify the AB for citizens and companies:
this will make AB tangible, recognizable and
personal for people -> profiles
Work outside in: start with the signals of
citizens and companies and not with policies.
Show that you take them serious
Bring the communication personnel into action
as soon as possible and involve them also in
the process to come to a solution
And: Make it fun!
Thank you for you attention!
Jacqueline Rutjens
[email protected]
+31 70 426 6085
Peter Rem
[email protected]
+31 70 426 7487