Citizens Advice Innovation Lab: Designing and testing a BSL Relay service to remove barriers to remote advice

During the pandemic, data showed a 64% reduction in access for deaf and hard of hearing clients. Our research identified the worst barriers for Deaf BSL clients, as our existing interpretation services were not available remotely.

I collaborated with a Deaf BSL user researcher to learn which provider offered the best user experience for Deaf BSL users and advisers.  I secured funding to scale to run the testing and scale the selected provider to our national services, starting with Help to Claim Universal Credit.

Video Relay Service is a remote service whereby BSL users and English speakers can communicate via a BSL interpreter, while all three parties are in separate locations. It was important for us to test with users as part of the procurement process to understand which tool best met user needs. 

I created visual user journeys to get buy in and funding to roll out the service. I mapped the user journeys for each tool and collaborated with our researcher to identity research questions. 

Our user researcher then recruited and tested two relay tools remotely with Deaf BSL participants.

Scaling the tool across a complex organisation

The research recommended one video relay service based on the accessibility and user experience for users and advisers.

I worked with stakeholders including service directors and procurement teams to create a roadmap for scaling to roll out the preferred tool across national and local. I collaborated with the Help to Claim Universal Credit service design team who designed content and launched the service.