Strengthening access to justice by enhancing court alternative dispute resolution systems

Tools Help Courts Communicate About ODR

Have you visited the OPEN Project section of RSI's website yet?

For the first phase of RSI's ODR Party Engagement (OPEN) Project, we studied potential barriers to using court-referred text-based ODR and ways courts could address these barriers. You can access our full report and tools for courts via the website, or use the links below to go directly to each document.

> The full report is “Making ODR More Accessible to Self-Represented Parties: Focus Group Perspectives.”

> The Guide for Courts provides recommendations for developing documents, websites and video tutorials for ODR that are easy to understand and use, particularly for those who have low literacy and are self-represented.

> The Document Preparation Worksheet and Checklist walks readers through each step of the document prep process, from considering the characteristics of the audience to determining the key content to include and the best way to communicate this content. Once documents are completed, the interactive checklist provides an opportunity to review the material and ensure all key recommendations were incorporated.

In the future, the OPEN Project hopes to provide technical assistance to courts starting ODR programs or wanting to improve their existing ODR communication tools. Interested? Contact Director of Research Jennifer Shack.