A digital welcome platform in Berlin?

Respondents want a central, multilingual, and user-friendly platform with an intuitive structure and understandable information in order to be able to better understand and navigate bureaucratic processes.

When asked about their previous experiences, survey participants responded that despite numerous digital services, they still encounter significant obstacles when using the websites of public institutions. Particularly frustrating are unclear navigation, vague information, and outdated designs. One respondent wote: „Berlin government websites are […]– ridiculously bad – poorly designed, unattractive, information is just dumped without structure.“ There is a great need for a centralized platform that provides clear and consolidated key information to make bureaucratic processes more transparent and accessible.

The survey results confirm that bureaucratic procedures are a central pain point in the process of arriving (see figure below). Only housing is ranked as more important, which is hardly surprising given Berlin’s tight rental market. Particularly noteworthy is that bureaucratic procedures are a key issue across all groups: An analysis based on sociodemographic characteristics shows little variation, with only healthcare being ranked as more important by non-male respondents.

The following digital features were most highly rated by respondents: Step-by-step guides, Online applications, Form-filling assistance or Checklists for required documents. First and foremost, however, are online appointment booking systems both for appointments with public authorities and advisory services. These preferences highlight that users see support with navigating bureaucratic processes as a key concern and are looking to digital offers to provide this.

Users also complain about a lack of multilingual support on public websites, forcing many to rely on unreliable third-party translations. Digital features that help with overcoming language barriers rank amongst the most highly-rated. Respondents requested multilingual information and functions (such as form-filling assistance and glossaries) and easily understandable texts. One respondent wrote: „Government and city websites are full of unnecessary and overloaded information as well as bureaucratic language [in German] that is extremely difficult to understand.“

The importance of overcoming these linguistic barriers is highlighted by further survey results. Almost all respondents stated that they speak English (mostly as a second or third language). German was named as the second most common language but was mentioned only half as often as English. In total, the survey respondents spoke nearly 60 different languages. This leads to the conclusion that a good and consistent English translation of digital information platforms is essential when providing information and services for newcomers. To make digital services inclusive, it is also important to offer translations in the most commonly spoken languages.

We also asked participants about their German language skills. Particularly interesting is the number of people with B1 level (intermediate) language skills, as it corresponds to the level of easy-to-understand language and is a prerequisite for naturalization applications in Germany. A quarter of respondents reported B1-level German skills. Over one-third had lower proficiency (A1 or A2) or no German skills at all, the other 40% had higher proficiency (B2 to C2).

Even though the data indicates that migrants‘ level of German increases with their duration of residence, it is also clear that language remains a significant barrier to access even for people who have lived in Germany for a longer period of time. This suggests that all digital information provided by public authorities should be offered in easy-to-understand language in order to reduce language barriers for all users.

In view of the fact that the texts on public websites are particularly complex (see the H&H Communication Lab Study 2024), this is an important area for improvement.

The sociodemographic data of the participants shows that nearly two-thirds of respondents have lived in Berlin for less than six years, meaning they are relatively newcomers. The vast majority are between 25 and 44 years old. Compared to the official national statistics (Destatis), our sample is somewhat older than the people who migrated to Germany in 2023; especially 18- to 24-year-olds are underrepresented. The gender distribution of respondents is relatively balanced. As a result, male migrants are underrepresented compared to official statistics.