User Needs First
An accessible, usable and comprehensible digital government. Providing inclusive services that everybody can and is willing to use. Because it has been developed with people in mind, rather than being based on governmental systems. That’s what we are about.
Gebruiker Centraal (loosely translated: User Needs First) is an active community by and for professionals. All of us are deeply committed to inclusive and accessible governmental services and communications. We focus on several topics that you can read more about on our About User Needs First page.
News
Communicity: technological solutions for marginzalized groups
CommuniCity is a transformative citizen-centred EU funded project. It contains around 100 innovative Tech Pilots in Europe in urban and peri-urban areas to empower marginalised communities. Project manager Adeeb Sidani tells us more.
Involving users in policy making, the story of Talk London
Talk London made an impression during the UserCentriCities summit in Brussels in 2023. The digital engagement platform was listed in the top 3 of most user-centric services in Europe. Greater London Authority’s Kate Lindemans and Selina Holliday tell us more about the platform and its development over the years.
Addressing the digital gender gap in Emilia-Romagna
Michela De Biasio and Barbara Santi are working on addressing the digital gender gap in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy, one of the challenges identified in Emilia-Romagna’s Digital Valley Common Good strategy. They aim to set an example and inspire other Italian regions, and even countries.
User-centricity: learning from Catalonia Digital Services Guide
Carme Rodríguez- Pàmias tells us more about The Digital Services Guide and the user-centricity projects Catalonia has been working on.
How the City of Tallinn uses digital twins
During the UserCentriCities summit in May 2023, it once again became apparent that Estonia is at the forefront of digitalization. Something that can also be seen in Tallin’s efforts related to urban and city planning with digital twins. Christopher Raitviir shares the details of Tallin’s smart city approach.
‘Involving zero users in service design leads to zero insights’
“Involving users in service design should be as normal as brushing your teeth”, says Maureen Wijsman-de Hond. She shares Rotterdam’s user testing journey and gives valuable insights into the necessity of user testing.