Lars Tummers: 'Government ought to be more simple'

On July 15th, Metro reported on the negative experiences of citizens with public authorities such as the tax and unemployment offices. Professor of Public Management and Behaviour and UYA member Lars Tummers on this mediocre rating.

According to Tummers, the government's grade in the study conducted (a six out of ten) fits the general perception we have about the Netherlands. He states that the communication between citizens and government is still too complicated: "The government needs to understand the state of citizens in bad circumstances, so government officials can adapt their behaviour accordingly."

Small improvements

In reality, legal jargon often collides with the understandability of government letters. It would help if jurists worked together with communication consultants and behavioural scientists on creating these letters. Scandinavian countries work with one centre that is the entry to all government services. Having a single office like that could also help our country in making communication with citizens more simple and understandable, Tummers says.