Inclusion in public services is a matter of democracy. In the digitalisation process of public services, we need to ensure that we are not contributing to anew form of vulnerability – digital exclusion. This is crucial as those who are digitally vulnerable and at risk of not getting access to services that they need, are often part of the same groups who are vulnerable in the physical world – elderly, immigrants, people with mental or physical disabilities, people with low-income, homeless. 

These people often experience exclusion in many different contexts and situations in their everyday life – not only in the particular service that you are offering.


It’s our responsibility as designers to ask the right questions, to the right people – namely the users. It’s about designing for everyone – not only for those who are already in the system. Part of creating inclusive public services is working with plain language – both in the analogue and digital world. Language is an essential key that can either exclude or include, depending on how we use it.

Oslo

The hidden cost of digitalisation – digital exclusion and the threat to democracy 

Providing democratic services