In our multilingual world, interpreting can be needed everywhere: a nurse triage call, a courtroom exchange, a police statement, an asylum interview. And because it touches so many services, it often ends up split across budgets and owners.
"Everyday interpreting services allow institutions to communicate with speakers of foreign languages in key domains, including healthcare, justice, education, migration, and asylum."
Giulia Silvestrini
That breadth of domains matters because it helps explain why interpreting is frequently “owned” by different teams across the same institution - each measuring success differently (cost, speed, risk, user experience).
The panel’s message was consistent: if interpreting is treated like a simple transactional purchase, problems show up on the front line - late bookings, missed coverage, inconsistent quality, and avoidable stress for frontline staff and citizens.
"Efficiency comes from treating interpreting as critical infrastructure for access, and not simply as a transactional service. When this is sorted, you have success coming."
Chris Stypula
Practical takeaway: This underlines why interpreting shouldn't always be managed as a single-team purchase. Decisions about quality, access, modality, and workforce sustainability affect multiple public services, so you need governance, perhaps from a partner, that holds up across different contexts.
