Your Voice Matters: Help Shape the New Assembly Website!

Overview

The Northern Ireland Assembly is embarking on a journey to redesign its website – and we need your help!

The current website, launched in 2010, is in need of a refresh. Technology has evolved and so have your needs as our users.

See for yourself at niassembly.gov.uk.

Along with improving the technology we want to address these needs. We know some of our issues:

• We often don't speak to all our users in an accessible way.
• We have information duplicated across the website which can cause confusion.
• Some information may be difficult to find.

At the end of the project we would like to have created a website that's:

• easier to navigate.
• more engaging.
• informative.
• accessible to all.

And that is why we need your help.

Why are we doing this?

Our goal is to achieve three key aims:

1. Strengthen public engagement: We want to make it easier for you to understand the Assembly's work and how it impacts your life and work.
    
2. Develop a confident legislature: A modern website reflects a progressive and responsive Assembly.
    
3. Ensure accessibility: Everyone should be able to access information on the website.

How can you get involved?

We're kicking off the project with user research and we want to hear from you.

To help us with this phase of the project we are partnering with local company Big Motive. Big Motive are specialists in web design and user research.

Complete our online survey and share your thoughts on the current website and your expectations for the new one. Tell us your stories and share how you use the Assembly website and the challenges you face.

Your input is crucial to shaping a website that meets the needs of everyone. By participating, you're helping to create a more informative, inclusive, and user-friendly resource for all.

Let's make this happen!

Please note:

The survey should take around 10 minutes to complete. For more information about this research, including how your data will be handled, please see the attached Participant Information and Privacy Notice.

By 'Assembly website' we mean http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/.

The closing date for responses is 23:59 on Sunday 10th March 2024.

What happens next

Thank you for taking part.

Once the survey is closed, the information will be collected and analysed.

Individuals who indicate a willingness to take part in a 1:1 session to discuss their survey answers further may be contacted by the Assembly's research partner, Big Motive, to organise an online session to discuss your views.

The results of the survey and 1:1 sessions will go into a research report focussed on perceptions of the current website and how it is used. All information from this survey will be anonymised. This research report will be used as a foundation and to inform future stages of the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission's website redevelopment project.

Individuals who indicate in this survey that they would be interested in taking part in later stages of the website redevelopment project may be contacted in the future to participate in one of the later stages. This could involve user testing, workshopping, feedback sessions or another activity geared towards a successful project implementation.

The aim is to create a new website that meets the needs and expectations of everyone in Northern Ireland and provides an engaging, user friendly and accessible online experience.