Grounded in administrative-burden research, Dutch Wmebv & OECD digital standards
Practical ways to make online public and civic services feel guided, forgiving and two-way, so people know where they stand and can reach a human with context when it matters.
Built for service designers, UX researchers, consultants, and civic or nonprofit service teams who want the people they serve to feel guided, not processed.
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Carer support request
Ref. 2026-0481 · started 3 NovSam de Vries is your caseworker and can see everything you shared.
You can add a clearer photo until 10 Nov. Nothing is decided before then, and an honest mistake never counts against you.
The paradigm shift
Many online services digitise the bureaucracy rather than the relationship: they wait for people to hunt down the right statute form, demand data the state already holds, and go silent. A relational service reaches out, explains, listens, and lets honest mistakes be fixed.
Interactive journey comparison
Pick a scenario to see how a relational journey reduces administrative burden and builds trust. Each friction is tagged with the burden it creates, and each fix with the pillar it draws on.
Reduces learning & psychological costs (Herd & Moynihan, 2018) and supports the Dutch Wmebv duty of care.
The person must guess whether they need “Wmo Maatwerkvoorziening Form 4B” or “Bijzondere Bijstand” across three municipal portals.
Forced to upload 12 months of payslips and family records the municipality already holds in the BRP/UWV registers; no free-text box to explain a sudden hospitalisation.
Only an automated “no-reply” reference number. Calling the general phone line means repeating the whole story to an agent who cannot see the web form.
A formal legal letter arrives citing Article 2.3.5 without explaining what was missing or how to fix an honest mistake without a formal legal objection (bezwaar).
Plain-language entry: “I am caring for an ill family member.” Eligibility, required documents and expected timeline are shown upfront on one screen.
Known address and income data are pre-filled with consent. A “Tell us what matters about your situation” field lets the person add vital human context.
A clear four-stage tracker (“Received → Caseworker assigned → Review → Decision by 14 Nov”) with a proactive SMS or email if a document is unreadable.
One click to request a call from the assigned caseworker, who sees the full digital file. Honest errors can be corrected within 14 days (herstel van verzuim) before any decision is final.
The scenarios are illustrative composites, not case studies of a specific organisation.
The 4-pillar framework
Every statement in the free check, the guided audit and the 20-statement worksheet scores your service against these four practical pillars.
Does the service come toward the person, or wait to be found?
Public services should not be fortresses waiting to be breached. A relational service comes toward people around real life events, explains eligibility in plain language, and reuses data ethically (Once-Only) instead of asking again.
Is the interaction two-way, and does it keep evolving?
A relationship is two-way. People can add context in their own words alongside fixed fields, see stage-by-stage progress with expected dates, and give in-journey feedback that the service team visibly acts on.
Is efficiency built on trust rather than on suspicion and friction?
Efficiency must save effort on both sides. Processes assume good faith by default, allow honest mistakes to be fixed without penalty (herstel van verzuim), and resolve questions informally before formal disputes arise.
Does the technology connect people, or only process them?
Algorithms and automation handle repetition while keeping their rules visible in plain language. When a case is complex or stuck, one click hands off to an empowered human who can see the digital context.
Research & policy grounding
Relational service design is not vague idealism. It translates established research and statutory duties into concrete, screen-by-screen checks.
Academic foundation · Herd & Moynihan (2018)
People experience government not through policy intentions but through the concrete friction of online and offline interactions. Relational service design audits and removes three distinct burdens:
Reference: Pamela Herd & Donald P. Moynihan, Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means (Russell Sage Foundation, 2018).
Human-in-the-loop architecture
AI and automated rules will increasingly handle routine checks. People must focus on interpretation, proportionality and care. In a relational framework, technology is never an excuse to hide behind “the computer says no.”
When someone clicks “Talk to a person”, the caseworker receives the exact screen state and uploaded files, so nobody has to retell a complex life story across departments.
Every automated calculation or triage rule is explained in plain language alongside the decision, with empowered human discretion for edge cases.
Philosophical foundation: Summanitism.org →
Free tools, one path
Start small and go deeper when you’re ready. The free tools run entirely in your browser: nothing you type is sent or stored.
Score one service on 12 statements and get a pillar breakdown with your three best next steps.
Start the check 20 minList the steps of one journey and see a heatmap of where it feels transactional, step by step.
Run an audit 1 minSketch a more relational version of one service page and download it as a single HTML file to test.
Make a prototype 60–90 min · €49Run a structured session with the 20-statement worksheet and leave with a one-page 90-day action plan.
See the toolkitFree interactive diagnostic · 100% in your browser
Score one online service on 12 core statements: 0 = not yet, 1 = partly or inconsistent, 2 = clearly true (maximum 24 points). Your answers stay in your browser and are never sent unless you choose to copy them into a message.
Try an illustrative example profile:
Self-serve practitioner toolkit
A 20-statement worksheet and action plan for a structured 60–90 minute session with your service team or client.
The full printable worksheet expands the free check to 20 diagnostic statements across the four pillars, with evidence prompts, pillar reflection guides, and a one-page 90-day action plan template.
For practitioners, consultancies and nonprofits. Other organisations: please write to connectwithus@humanitysolutions.net (opens your email app).
€49.00incl. 21% VAT (€40.50 excl. VAT)
Invoices issued by Humanity Solutions (KvK 71110178).
Good to know
No. IOPS is an independent initiative of Humanity Solutions in The Hague. It is not affiliated with any government body and cannot receive applications, objections or case details. If you need help with your own case, please contact the organisation that runs that service.
No. The check, the guided audit and the prototype generator run entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent or stored, and the site uses no cookies, analytics or trackers. Only the contact form sends data, and only when you press Send. See the privacy summary.
The free check gives one person a quick 12-statement snapshot. The toolkit is built for a team session: 20 statements with evidence prompts, reflection guides per pillar, a facilitation guide and a one-page 90-day action plan, with a licence to use it across your organisation.
Independent practitioners and consultants, service and content designers, UX researchers, and civic or nonprofit service teams. Other organisations are welcome to write to us first.
No. The check and the toolkit are reflection and design aids, not a formal legal audit, a compliance certification or a validated scale. The research and legal references above explain where the statements come from.
Automated checkout is in final setup. For now you order by invoice through the contact form below: tick “This is an order”, confirm the two order boxes, and add your organisation and billing details. We email the download link together with a VAT invoice within 2 working days. See the terms of sale.
Next step
If you design, product-manage, or advise on online public services, or want to order the €49 Relational Service Self-Assessment Toolkit by invoice, tell us briefly what you’re working on. A person at Humanity Solutions replies by email.
