Purpose
The goal of this project is to identify the potential of citizen inquiries as a source of innovation in service development and continuous improvements to public service delivery.
This goal is specified in four sub-goals:
- Identify challenges related to user involvement in the development of digital public services
- Map how Nav uses citizen inquiries and assess the potential of these experiences
- Identify and systematize citizens' challenges in meeting Nav's digital services
- Develop guidelines for a methodological approach to how citizen inquiries can be used in the development and improvement of digital services
Project Description
To ensure that digital services meet citizens' needs, citizen input is collected through workshops and various forms of consultation bodies. Such user participation is most often based on constructed situations and involves citizens who are particularly motivated.
At the same time, Nav has a lot of insight into users' experiences available without this being fully utilized. When citizens encounter challenges, they contact Nav through various channels by calling, meeting up or writing messages. These inquiries from real situations are valuable and can be used more actively. In this project, we will investigate how such citizen inquiries can be systematically used in the further development and improvement of Nav's digital services.
First, we will identify current practices for including input from citizens in the development of digital solutions. At the same time, we will analyze citizens' inquiries to Nav and how the information from such inquiries is used. Many inquiries come through front-line personnel in Nav, who therefore play an important role in our surveys.
Such analyses will give us an in-depth understanding of the challenges citizens have in meeting Nav's digital service offerings. This forms the basis for developing guidelines for how insights from citizen inquiries can be integrated into the continuous improvement and development of digital service offerings.
Publications
Hofmann, S., Sæbø, Ø., Madsen, C., Chen, W., Gjersøe, H., Gjøsæter, T. & Schmager, S. (2026). The unheard voices: Citizens’ enquiries as a source for improving public services. EGOV-CeDEM-ePart 2026. https://doi.org/10.59490/6a91ad122e0d84c290662a91
