1. Plain Language in Norway’s Civil Service
Torunn Reksten, the Language Council of Norway
Sissel C. Motzfeldt, the Agency for Public Management and eGovernment

2. Population: almost 5 million
Government: Majority Government
(Labour, Socialist and Centre)
Literacy: 1/3 of the population has reading problems –
coping with demands of everyday life and work (level 3 of
IALS)
Studies:
• 1/3 find it difficult to fill in public forms
• 1/3 do not believe that public authorities try to write in a
clear and understandable way
Some facts about Norway

3. Our project:
Plain Language in Norway’s Civil Service
• Initiated and funded by the Minister of
Government Administration, Reform
and Church Affairs
• Goal: Stimulate public agencies
• A 3 year project - launched in March
2009
• Framework: The Government
Communication platform, the Leadership
platform, two central reports to our
Parliament

4. Consequences of poor language
• Lack of respect and trust
• Loss of involvement from the public
• Undemocratic – threatens equal rights
• Unnecessary expenses

5. Who is involved?
• Agency for Public Management and
eGovernment and the Language Council of
Norway – 5 persons altogether – project group
• A reference group
• The Norwegian Dyslexia
Association
• Public agencies

6. What makes our project unique?
• The Language Council with it’s permanent section for
clear language at government level (established in
2006) – language skills
• The Agency for Public Management and
eGovernment - project management skills and huge
network
• Together these parties have the unique opportunity
to reach a broad audience and ensure high quality
language and communication tools.

9. We offer
• grants
• consulting
• a popular “pool of knowledge”
• clear language writing/training courses
• “how to run a plain language project”

10. Our main acknowledgement program
The Plain Language Award
 is for government agencies which have made
an extraordinary effort to improve the
language in written information to the public
 is awarded by the minister of Government
Administration, Reform and Church Affairs
 was awarded to the Norwegian State
Educational Loan Fund in 2009

11. Branding
Clear as water
Practical language advice or
web page updates
Quotes or sayings on language
Our logo and web site

12. What have we achieved so far?
Case studies
• The Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
– saves money and time by altering its mass
produced letters
• The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration
– seized the opportunity to improve their
language standards as a new law was
introduced

13. What have we achieved so far?
Case studies
• The Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund
– user involvement
• The Ministry of Children, Equality and Social
Inclusion
– wishes to set an example with its legal
language

14. Lessons learned
by the project team
Our strengths
• We offer free tools and support.
• We have the support of the government and the minister.
• We are a dedicated group of people with different
professional backgrounds.
• We have funding.
Our weaknesses
• We lack documentation and research.
• We need to have closer cooperation with the academic sector.
• We need more time and human resources.

15. Lessons learned
by the government agencies
• Make it evident that it’s about your reputation.
• Set clear and realistic goals and ambitions.
• Get support from the management at all levels.
• Involve all crucial groups from the beginning.
• Find key persons, but not only.
• Start with the most important communication.
• Let the actual audience test the new documents.
• Demand progress reports.
• Use lots of humour and be generous with praise.

16. Where do we go from here?
Emphasis on sustainability
• 2 more years
• Closer cooperation with research institutions
• Initiate studies showing the importance of
plain language (i.e. studies on effectiveness)
• Improve the language in laws and regulations
• Involve local municipalities (435)