Intern researching inclusive communication

Job Description

As an intern, you will support the Senior Advisor on Communication Research and the Senior Advisor on Inclusive Communication in studies and pilots that focus on hard-to-reach target groups. You will work for the Department of Public and Communication (DPC), part of the Ministry of General Affairs. Among other things, DPC takes care of the digital information provision of the central government. One of the communication tools is the website Rijksoverheid.nl (Information Government). On this website, information from the government is offered as understandable and accessible as possible, but the generic style of government communication is too complicated for hard-to-reach target groups. This can and should be done differently. In order not to exclude anyone, steps must be taken towards inclusive communication. After all: everyone should be able to participate equally in society and benefit in the same way from the (digital) provision of information and government services. Not for nothing is this one of the objectives in the coalition agreement of cabinet Rutte III.

In practice, this is a difficult task. The overall information and service provision of the central government often initially focuses on "everyone in the Netherlands," and "every Dutch person. But in practice, this is about 80% of the Dutch population. This is generally also the group that is self-reliant, actively searches for information (online) when there is reason to do so, and knows its way through the jungle of information. And so that means that 20% of the Dutch have more difficulty finding their way to the right information (online). This is because, for example, they are low-literate, do not or insufficiently master the Dutch language, have no or limited digital skills and/or have a physical or psychological disability.

In 2018, an initial exploration was conducted into the state of (online) inclusion, target groups and improving information and services for these groups within the Information Central Government domain. In this, a first picture was obtained of how we deal with inclusion within the (central) government. In contacts with the municipalities of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague it became clear that there is a lot of knowledge there about inclusive communication, from which the central government could learn. In addition, it would be interesting to do more extensive research among municipal services, such as GGDs and consultation agencies and to speak with a larger group of interest groups. What knowledge do they have of the hard-to-reach target groups? How do they communicate with these groups?

In the coming period we will work in several pilots with the conclusions and recommendations from the exploration to make the provision of information and services from the central government more inclusive. The starting point is to offer the right information to the right person in the right form via the right sender in the right place at the right time.

Your duties

• You will make contact with the various organizations mentioned above and go (with them) to the interviews.
• You will translate good examples into opportunities for the DPC's information and service delivery.
• You seek collaboration with ongoing initiatives on (online) inclusion within government.
• You use previously conducted studies from other government organizations.
• You provide an up-to-date review of third-party research on inclusive communication.
• You will review investigations, translate relevant findings to the DPC and share with colleagues.
• You will advise, based on the surveys and your own findings, on effective ways of conducting research among hard-to-reach target groups.

Employment

You will receive an internship allowance of up to €616 per month for a full-time internship of 40 hours per week.

Apply now!

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