This special issue presents an overview of the outcomes of the research programme called Comprehensible Language and Effective Communication (Dutch National Science Foundation, 2011-2016). This programme aimed to stimulate fundamental and applied research on comprehensible and effective communication. A core characteristic of the programme was private-public cooperation: profit and non-profit organisations contributed to the programme and to the research projects within the program. A second characteristic of the programme was its interdisciplinarity. The research projects combined expertise from linguistic communication, communication science, health communication, political communication and education. The projects focused on a variety of domains in which comprehensibility is crucial, such as communication about personal finance and health. The articles in this special issue provide an overview of some core results.