LGA urges the public sector to ditch jargon to help people during the recession

LGA media release 18 March 2009

Council leaders have today published a list of 200 words that public bodies should not use if they want to communicate effectively with local people.

The Local Government Association list, which has been sent to councils across the country, sets out 200 words and phrases that all public sector bodies should avoid when talking to people about the work they do and the services they provide.

Words included on the list include:

• taxonomy
• re-baselining
• mainstreaming
• holistic governance
• contestability
• predictors of beaconicity
• synergies

Council leaders have highlighted that unless everyone who works in public services talks to people in a language that they can understand then the work they do becomes inaccessible. It also reduces the chances of people getting help during the recession.

Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr Margaret Eaton, said:

“The public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases. Why do we have to have ‘coterminous, stakeholder engagement’ when we could just ‘talk to people’ instead?

 “During the recession, it is vital that we explain to people in plain English how to get access to the eight hundred different services that local government provides with taxpayers’ money.

 “Councils have a duty, not only to provide value for money to local people, but also to tell people what they get for the tax they pay. People would be furious if they have no idea of what services their cash is paying for and how they should get to use them.

 ”From claiming council tax benefit and how older people can get a lift to the shops, to telling people how they can get their old fridges picked up or how to report criminals who flytip, people need to know what is available to them.

 ”Unless information is given to people to explain what help they can get during a recession then it could well lead to more people ending up homeless or bankrupt. If a council fails to explain what it does in plain English then local people will fail to understand its relevance to them or why they should bother to turn out and vote.

  “We do not pretend to be perfect, but as this list shows, we are striving to make sure that people get the chance to understand what services we provide.”

ENDS

A copy of the 200 words and their alternatives can be found below:

200 WORDS AND THEIR ALTERNATIVES

Across-the-piece - everyone working together
Actioned - do 
Advocate - support
Agencies - groups 
Ambassador - leader 
Area based - in an area 
Area focused - concentrating on the area 
Autonomous - independent 
Baseline - starting point 
Beacon - leading light 
Benchmarking - measuring 
Best Practice - best way 
Blue sky thinking - thinking up ideas 
Bottom-Up - listening to people 
CAAs - why use at all? 
Can do culture  - get the job done 
Capabilities -  
Capacity - ability 
Capacity building - enough room in the system 
Cascading -  why use at all? 
Cautiously welcome - devil in the detail 
Challenge - problem 
Champion - best 
Citizen empowerment ­- people power 
Client - person 
Cohesive communities - why use at all? 
Cohesiveness - together 
Collaboration - working together 
Commissioning - buy 
Community engagement - getting people involved 
Compact - why use at all? 
Conditionality ­­- why use at all? 
Consensual  - everyone agrees 
Contestability - Why use at all? 
Contextual - background
Core developments - main things that are happening 
Core Message ­- main point 
Core principles - beliefs
Core Value - belief 
Coterminosity - all singing from the same hymn sheet 
Coterminous - all singing from the same hymn sheet
Cross-cutting - everyone working together 
Cross-fertilisation - spreading ideas 
Customer - people/person
Democratic legitimacy - voted in  
Democratic mandate - elected to put people first  
Dialogue - talk/discuss 
Direction of travel - way forward 
Distorts spending priorities - ignores people’s needs 
Double devolution - Why use at all?
Downstream - Why use at all? 
Early Win - success 
Edge-fit - Why use at all? 
Embedded - set in 
Empowerment - people power 
Enabler - helps 
Engagement - working with people 
Engaging users ­- getting people involved 
Enhance - improve 
Evidence Base - research shows 
Exemplar - example 
External challenge - outside pressures 
Facilitate - help 
Fast-Track - speed up 
Flex - Why use at all? 
Flexibilities and Freedoms  - more power to do the right thing 
Framework - guide 
Fulcrum - pivot 
Functionality - use 
Funding Streams - money 
Gateway review - Why use at all? 
Going forward - in the future 
Good Practice - best way 
Governance - Why use at all? 
Guidelines - guide 
Holistic - taken in the round 
Holistic governance - Why use at all? 
Horizon scanning - Why use at all? 
Improvement levers - using the tools to get the job done 
Incentivising - incentive 
Income Streams - money/cash 
Indicators - measurements
Initiative - idea 
Innovative capacity - Why use at all? 
Inspectorates - monitoring bodies 
Interdepartmental - working together 
Interface - talking to each other 
Iteration - version 
Joined up - working together 
Joint working - working together 
LAAs - Why use at all? 
Level playing field - everyone equal 
Lever - Why use at all? 
Leverage - influence 
Localities ­- places/town/city/village 
Lowlights - worst bits 
MAAs  - Why use at all? 
Mainstreaming - Why use at all? 
Management capacity - Why use at all? 
Meaningful consultation- talking to people 
Meaningful dialogue - talking to people 
Mechanisms - methods 
Menu of Options - choices 
Multi-agency ­- many groups 
Multidisciplinary - many 
Municipalities - towns/cities/areas 
Network model - Why use at all? 
Normalising - make normal 
Outcomes - results 
Outcomes - focused 
Output - results 
Outsourced - privatised 
Overarching - Why use at all? 
Paradigm - Why use at all? 
Parameter - limits 
Participatory - joining in 
Partnership working - working together 
Partnerships - working together 
Pathfinder - Why use at all?  
Peer challenge - Why use at all? 
Performance Network - Why use at all? 
Place shaping - creating places where people can thrive 
Pooled budgets - money 
Pooled resources - time and money 
Pooled risk - Why use at all? 
Populace - people 
Potentialities - chances 
Practitioners - experts 
Predictors of Beaconicity - Why use at all? 
Preventative services - protecting the most vulnerable 
Prioritization - most important 
Priority - most important 
Proactive - Why use at all? 
Process driven - shouldn’t everything be people driven? 
Procure - buy 
Procurement - buying 
Promulgate - spread 
Proportionality -  in proportion 
Protocol - guidance 
Provider vehicles - Why use at all? 
Quantum - Why use at all? 
Quick Hit - success 
Quick Win - success 
Rationalisation - cut 
Rebaselining - Why use at all?
Reconfigured - reform 
Resource allocation - money going to the right place 
Revenue Streams  - money 
Risk based - safest way 
Robust - tough 
Scaled-back - cut/reduce 
Scoping - work out 
Sector wise - Why use at all? 
Seedbed - idea 
Self-aggrandizement - Why use at all? 
Service users - people 
Shared priority ­- all working together  
Shell developments - Why use at all?
Signpost - point in the direction of 
Single conversations - talking to
Single Point of Contact - everything under one roof 
Situational - situation 
Slippage - delay 
Social contracts ­ - deal 
Social exclusion - poverty 
Spatial - Why use at all? 
Stakeholder - other organisations 
Step Change - improve 
Strategic -  planned 
Strategic priorities - planned 
Streamlined - efficient 
Sub-regional - work between councils 
Subsidiarity - Why use at all? 
Sustainable - long term 
Sustainable communities - environmentally friendly 
Symposium ­­- meeting 
Synergies - what use at all? 
Systematics - Why use at all? 
Taxonomy - Why use at all? 
Tested for Soundness ­- what works 
Thematic - theme 
Thinking outside of the box - Why use at all? 
Third sector - charities and voluntary organisations 
Toolkit - guidance 
Top-Down - ignores people
Trajectory - route 
Tranche - slice 
Transactional - Why use at all? 
Transformational - change 
Transparency - clear 
Upstream - Why use at all? 
Upward trend - getting better 
Utilise - use 
Value-added - extra 
Vision ­- ideal/dream/belief 
Visionary - ideal/dream/belief 
Welcome - necessary and needed/step in the right direction 
Wellbeing - healthy 
Worklessness - unemployed