Communicatiematrix voor Kind & Gezin

Social services and public services are facing a remarkable diversity of clients today. Existing tools for communication do not always work or are not used efficiently. Departing from this observation, Kind en Gezin (Child & Family), the organisation that monitors child-minding for the Flemish authorities in Belgium, Kruispunt Migratie-Integratie, and Ghent University jointly conducted exploratory research in which we analyzed the verbal and non-verbal communication in Kind & Gezin service encounters with clients whose mother tongue is not Dutch. We analyzed 74 filmed conversations between service providers and foreign mothers, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The ultimate purpose of the study was to develop a communication matrix that schematically shows what communication tools should ideally be used in the service context so that more cost-efficient and effective service can be provided without sacrificing service quality. The data collection was done by Kind & Gezin , the filmed excerpts were analyzed , coded and systematically incorporated into Nvivo10 by Ugent researchers (see contact details of researchers below) . The results were delivered in a written report and handed over to Kind & Gezin for further follow up and training of the organisation’s staff. With the research we have tried to provide an empirically grounded answer to the following research questions: 1. Which tools are currently being deployed by service providers to bridge the communication gap? And which aren’t yet ? 2. What advantages and disadvantages have these bridging tools ? 3. Which bridging tools operate optimally within certain service contexts and why (success factors and constraints ) ? 4. Which bridging tools may not work properly in certain contexts and why (pitfalls and constraints )? 6. Which bridging tools, which are not yet used by Kind &Gezin , may offer a solution for gaps or obstacles in communication between service providers and new speakers of Dutch