**This post is written by Alexandra Tkac Posypankova, user researcher at Creative Industry Kosice. **

  • The problem: Governments do not implement user research in policymaking
  • Why it matters: Through user research, governments can design policies that will fulfil the needs of the citizens and thus increase their quality of life.
  • The solution: Talk and listen to your users and explore their needs, behaviours and motivations through user research.

The benefits of user research are becoming widely recognised by the private sector. By listening to their users, companies can better understand the perceptions and behaviours of their customers. They can then design products and services that respond to their customers’ needs and thus give the company a higher chance of succeeding in the market.

Governments, however, do not compete for survival with other organisations. So why should they invest time and energy into talking to citizens that often have exceeding expectations of how governments should function?

**Who are users in the public sector? **

First, it should be established what we understand by the term “user research”. The term seems rather straightforward – research with users. But who are the users in the public sector?

Naturally, the first thing that might come to mind is the citizens who are the end consumers of policies and public services. This is true – citizens and their needs are important when it comes to user research within the public sector. They are the group of users that will be most affected by any change in the public sector.

However, the term “users” in user research does not generally focus solely on end consumers. Users are all groups of people that interact with the policy or service that you are aiming to change. Thus, when it comes to user research concerning policymaking, we must not forget about the front-line workers. They interact with the policies, services and citizens daily and often can provide great insights when it comes to your topic of user research.

How can user research impact policymaking?

Policymakers already make data-driven decisions. Yet they tend to do so based on statistics and survey results - in other words, quantitative data. While this type of data-driven policymaking is better than none, quantitative data provides information only about what is going on and not why it is going. That is precisely the gap that can be filled by implementing user research results in policymaking.

Users are all groups of people that interact with the policy or service that you are aiming to change. Thus, when it comes to user research concerning policymaking, we must not forget about the front-line workers.

Throughout my work, I repeatedly encounter policies that do not reflect reality. Social policies are great candidates for implementing user research, especially policies that aim to improve the lives of more socially vulnerable communities such as social housing. The main goal of social housing is to fairly distribute housing in public ownership to those who need it most – pensioners, single-parent families, persons with a disability, etc.

However, the application for social housing is predicated on a number of questions. _How many annexes does the application require from the person applying? Would a socially vulnerable person have the time and means to acquire all annexes? Are all the annexes truly necessary when applying for social housing?. _

These questions can be answered rather quickly, simply by talking with front-line workers and the citizens in question. This can eventually lead to a policy change that will better address the reality of people applying for social housing and make the experience as seamless as possible.

**What should we be aware of? **

While user research can be beneficial, high-quality user research will take time. Talking to users is only the first step. Analysing the collected data tends to be the more difficult part of the job. That, of course, depends on your time, capacity, and the complexity of the problem you are researching. Despite that, even a small team with limited time that talks only to a few users can provide valuable insights.

Additionally, beware that government officials might be resistant to implementing user research. Successful user research is dependent on patience, and it cannot prove its benefits if rushed or sabotaged. Additionally, government officials are not used to making their decisions based on qualitative data which might discourage them from trusting the results of user research. To successfully implement user research in policymaking, try to show the decision-makers partial and interesting findings or even include them in the process. Lastly, make sure that you can back up all your findings with relevant data.

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