Many migrants may not find digital public sector services to be accessible, inclusive or trustworthy. For better immigrant integration, Finnish public sector has to engage with migrants in an inclusive and fair manner. Therefore, Trust-M specifically aims to understand how trust, inclusion and equality are present in current digital public sector services from a migrant perspective. It will create alternatives for novel digital public sector services that could upkeep trust and respect human rights.

Finnish public sector has to engage with migrants in an inclusive and fair manner

One of the main migrant groups of interest is migrant women, since they have been considered particularly vulnerable to segregation from the labor market. Together with the city of Espoo, Trust-M will produce a pilot version of a hybrid public sector service based on conversational interaction, including conversational chatbots.

To do this, the researchers within Trust-M will conduct ethnographic research and participatory design with migrant counseling service programs in the Cities of Espoo and Helsinki as well as with many other public and third-sector actors. Trust-M will design and pilot digital services using hybrid service design based on conversational chatbots and speech-based interaction. We will assess the implications and devise metrics for offering more accessible and trustworthy services for diverse migrant users.