Dutch Central Government Research Articles

The New F-word: The case of fragmentation in Dutch cybersecurity governance

The fragmentation of the Dutch cybersecurity government landscape is a widely discussed phenomenon among politicians, policy makers, and cybersecurity specialists. Remarkably though, a negative narrative is underlying the idea of fragmentation, suggesting that we are dealing with a serious problem. A problem that has the potential of impeding cybersecurity governance in the Netherlands. This research zooms in on how cybersecurity governance is organised within the central government, and which organisations are concerned with the creation, implementation, and oversight of cybersecurity policies vis à vis Dutch society. This article provides an overview of all central government organisations (de Rijksoverheid) that are involved in cybersecurity governance on a strategic level. This research provides the first step in doctoral research into the possible implications of the fragmentation of cybersecurity governance in the Dutch central government, and how this fragmentation could potentially impact policy creation, implementation, and oversight. Based on the mapping of this governance landscape, it set out to measure fragmentation based on the number of units or organisations that are concerned with cybersecurity governance in the central government on a strategic level. This study has found that based on Boyne's (1992) notion of fragmentation and the Dutch governments’ definition of tiers, the Dutch cybersecurity governance landscape could indeed, when meticulously following Boyne's counting procedure, be regarded as fragmented.

Sociable in Someone Else’s Shoes: A Review of Drama as Social Skills Training for Elementary School Children

The Dutch Central Government wants to focus on preventing mental health issues and the educational system needs to play a role in that process. Research has already shown that art therapy has significant positive results on mental wellbeing, so the question was asked whether arts in the education could help relief mental health stress of children. Specific attention for the effects of drama on social skills of children is justified, because higher social skills are associated with lower psychosocial stress, which in turn seems to be related to improved mental health. This study is a meta-analysis on current research, which was then compared to older meta-analyses on the same topic. Results are promising and consistent with earlier meta-analyses. The average effect size of the current research was found to be 1.174 in current research, but more empirical research on the relationship between drama and social skills is needed to warrant a decisive conclusion.

The ‘right’ policy for regional development: seeking spatial justice in the Dutch case of the region deals

ABSTRACT Central governments are increasingly preoccupied with problems of regional development, ranging from political discontent to sustainability transitions. New development funds are unfolded with different rationalities about what spatially just redistribution is. This paper aims to uncover in what ways issues are problematized in regional development policies, in which normative principle of redistributive justice the policy problem is primarily grounded, and how this affects regional development investments. This study critically examines an empirical case of policy for regional development in the Netherlands: the Region Deals (Regio Deals). The findings show that even though Dutch central government discursively problematized people who are left behind in the progress of the country, this priority was not maintained for places that are left behind. The Dutch case exemplifies that government rationalities about ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ regional development are a crucial factor to which regions benefit most from redistribution. Yet these rationalities are underexposed and inconsistently articulated in policy documents and political discourse.

Policy control as an alternative approach to performance-based budgeting (PBB) to strengthen the link between policy and financial means

IMPACT Although bridging policy and financial resources is considered important in public sector organizations, making this connection is difficult in daily practice. The authors show how policy control, a new approach that has been initiated in Dutch central government, can help bridge this gap. The traditional methods of performance-based budgeting focus on the idea that resources should be spent rationally in terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Policy control, in contrast, approaches the linkage of resources and policy objectives from the perspective of the intended societal added value of policy plans.

Investigating the effectiveness of COVID-19 pandemic countermeasures on the use of public transport: A case study of The Netherlands

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public transport in many cities faces dramatic reduction of passenger demand. Various countermeasures such as social distancing and in-vehicle disinfection have been implemented to reduce the potential risks concerning infection, the effectiveness in promoting the use of public transport however remains unclear. Unlike the usual situation where time and cost are the main factors affecting travel decisions, the uncertainty hiding behind the behavior change of public transport users in a pandemic might be greatly affected by the control measures and the perception of people. This paper therefore aims to examine the effects of COVID-19 related countermeasures implemented in public transport on individuals' travel decisions. We explore the extent to which do policy countermeasures influence different groups of people on the use of public transport. An error component latent class choice model was estimated using the data collected in the Netherlands. Results show that the restrictions policy lifted by the Dutch central government have significant effect on individuals' transportation mode choice decision during the pandemic. The related measures adopted by the public transport sector, by contrast, present different effects on different people. The older and highly educated people are more susceptible to enforcement measures, whereas young and single Dutch citizens are more accessible to non-compulsory measures. Moreover, compared with other private modes, public transport is generally identified as a riskier option, and the average willingness to travel descends. Findings of this study are helpful for the authorities in designing and promoting effective policies in the context of pandemics.

The impact of “procurement with impact”: measuring the short-term effects of sustainable public procurement policy on the environmental friendliness of tenders

PurposeThis paper aims to study the short-term effects of a new procurement policy document on the inclusion of environmental requirements and green award criteria in tenders. The policy document is named “Procurement with Impact” and was released by the Dutch central government to further stimulate Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP).Design/methodology/approachCentral government tenders were quantitatively analyzed in the six months prior and after the release of the new policy on their inclusion of environmental concerns. This judgment was made based on the role of environmental concerns in the requirements and the award criteria. As a control group, the same was done on a municipal level, for which the new policy document does not apply. Each of the four samples contained 60 tenders. Data was acquired via the European public procurement database TED. In the analysis, a chi-square test was used to measure whether a significant difference exists between the two periods for each group.FindingsResults show that central government has procured in a more environmentally concerned way after the release of “Procurement with Impact.” Within a year, the number of green tenders conducted by central government significantly increased from 30% to 55%. No significant difference was found on a municipal level.Social implicationsSPP has received increasing attention over the past few decades but has not led to implementation of its principles in most public tenders. As SPP can have a major impact on a more sustainable and social society, it is important to understand how policy can influence the sustainability of tenders. The findings of our study show that “Procurement with impact” had a significant positive short-term effect on the inclusion of green award criteria and requirements in public tenders. Implementing similar SPP policies in other government sectors and other countries could have a substantial effect on the worldwide uptake of SPP.Originality/value“Procurement with Impact” contains a clear sustainable vision embracing the principles of SPP. This government policy takes into account several SPP barriers and drivers and satisfies several policy theory conditions. The authors show in the paper that this policy is an effective instrument for increasing the inclusion of environmental concerns in tenders. As the difference is already significant within a year, this could also reflect the readiness of tenderers to turn to SPP once there is a clear organization wide policy.

The many shapes and sizes of meta-governance. An empirical study of strategies applied by a well-advanced meta-governor: the case of Dutch central government in education

ABSTRACT This article aims at deepening the understanding of how central governments enact meta-governance. Drawing on meta-governance and policy network theory, a heuristic analytical framework of meta-governance strategies was applied on two contrasting Dutch education policy cases. The results show that the use of meta-governance strategies differs according to the degree of formal responsibility of the central government. Creating nodes in a policy network turns out to be a specific strategy, and the effectiveness of different meta-governance strategies is interrelated. Lastly, the lack of involvement of education practice impinge on the adequacy of meta-governance practice.

Kolonialisme dan Dikotomi Pendidikan di Indonesia

It is well known that Indonesia is a vast area and is very rich with various natural resources, including spices. These spices became the initial attraction for European nations to come to Indonesia, because they really needed them. The arrival of European nations (especially the Portuguese, Dutch and British) since the 9/15 century to trade which later developed into political and military colonization. The Dutch colonial occupation had very complex motives and goals with three major themes, which were often referred to as 3G: Gold (Gold), Glory (Power), and Gospel (Religion / Gospel), namely Economy, politics and religion. In relation to these interests, the drafters of the concept of education seemed unable to separate themselves from the socio-economic and political conditions of the Dutch central government, and their relation to the political interests of the Dutch East Indies. Thus every policy implemented in the field of education tended to be related to the interests of Dutch colonial politics in Indonesia. So that Islamic education itself is difficult to develop and its development is very limited and not given free space.

The boundaries of Behavioural Insights: observations from two ethnographic studies

Background: `Behavioural Insights’ has emerged as an increasingly popular approach to policy making in governments across the globe. Practitioners largely present a frontstage narrative of Behavioural Insights as a coherent concept but this article challenges such a description. Aims & objectives: This article aims to explore the ongoing process of policy translation that the global Behavioural Insights community is subject to. Methods: The data for this project is drawn from two independent ethnographic studies undertaken between 2014 and 2018 studying Behavioural Insights practitioners within Australia, with a focus on federal government (Ball), as well as practitioners within various Dutch central and local government agencies (Feitsma). Findings: This exploratory study highlights that Behavioural Insights at one level possesses some consistencies in how it is being translated by Behavioural Insights teams in government. These consistencies include a shared narrative and the use of a family of instruments (primarily nudges) and artefacts. At the same time, however, the field is marked by contingencies. These contingencies include disparities between what theories are considered and how it is applied as well as differing levels of commitment to experimental methodologies. Discussion and conclusions: This study raises important questions about how Behavioural Insights is being translated into practice, especially in government policy making. The contingencies present raise concerns about the identity of Behavioural Insights and whether its presentation as a coherent whole is of more value in a discursive sense than in a practical one.

The influence of parliamentarians on the development of financial management regulations for executive agencies

PurposeThe involvement of politicians in the introduction and use of financial management techniques in the public sector deserves more attention. This paper analyses the influence of members of Parliament (MPs) on the development of financial management regulations for Dutch central government executive agencies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses desk research and analyses formal evaluation reports, as well as minutes of meetings of Parliament to analyse the influence of MPs on the changes in financial management regulations.FindingsMPs' influence on the change of prescriptions seems to have been small. The authors observe that modifications were most often already formulated in general evaluation reports by the Ministry of Finance, in advance of parliamentary debates. The analysis also reveals that the criteria to be met by the executive agencies became more detailed in the initial years of the agency model and became more global in recent years.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper aims to contribute to the literature on the influence of politicians on financial management regulations.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that the influence of MPs on the prescriptions is quite small in daily practice and therefore, their role in the legislative process, as far as financial management techniques are concerned, is limited.Social implicationsThe results show that politicians are both in charge of, as well as subject to NPM-inspired financial management regulations, whereas their influence on the rules is small. The authors advise to further analyse this, as well as to explore how their role can be enlarged.Originality/valueThe interplay between politicians and financial management techniques in general, and the influence of MPs on the legislative process in specific, is an underresearched area. This paper aims to contribute to this literature and shows that the influence of MPs on the development of financial management regulations is limited. Several changes were made in these prescriptions in a period of more than 25 years, whereas discussions in the Parliament hardly played a role in these modifications.

Age and sustainable labour participation: studying moderating effects

PurposeResearch findings are ambiguous regarding the effects of age on sustainable labour participation (SLP), defined as the extent to which people are able and willing to conduct their current and future work. The purpose of this paper is to contribute by examining age effects on SLP by focusing on the moderating role of workload.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method study was conducted in 2018. First, a survey was distributed among a sample of 2,149 employees of the Dutch central government. Second, 12 interviews with public sector employees took place to gain greater insight into the quantitative data collected.FindingsThree components that reflect an employee’s SLP were studied: vitality, work ability and employability. The quantitative results, in general, showed that SLP decreased with ageing. However, in contrast to the hypothesis, the results showed a significant positive relationship between age and energy. Moreover, relationships between an employee’s age and certain aspects of their SLP were moderated by workload. The interviews helped to interpret these results.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate that some of the older worker stereotypes are unfounded, and the important practical implications of these are discussed.Originality/valueEarlier research has produced conflicting findings regarding the relationship between age and (aspects of) SLP. By investigating several aspects of SLP in separate regressions within this research, the specific influences of age have become clearer. Furthermore, the research provides fresh insights into the relationship between age and SLP by including moderating effects of workload.

SOCIAL ENGINEERING THROUGH EDUCATION LAW A comparative analysis of cultural policies between the Dutch and Indonesian central Government

Studies on art education and culture are a continuing concern within academicians and politicians. Although extensive research has been carried out on the fields, few studies exist, which concern about the use of art education for cultural hegemony. This study concerns about Acehnese culture and identity. During the time of colonisation, imperialist scholar; Snouck Hurgronje had used cultural resources as the instrument to instil false cultural identity for the interest to take control over Aceh. Stepping on the Dutch’s colonialising policies, the central government of Indonesia has, as argued, used art curriculum as a hegemonic media for similar interests. This article discusses the case of art education in Acehnese by analysing the content of the text books recommended by the central government. This work is to demonstrate the representation of Acehnese cultural identity in the “Art and Culture” curriculum of schools in Aceh. I employ Freire, Hall, Apple, and Giroux thoughts to formulate the framework of this article. The aim of this paper is to understand the mechanism of the art curriculum used to nationalise local people and to uncover the scheme of cultural hegemony in Acehnese schools, Indonesia. This work significantly contributes toward understanding the relation between cultural hegemony and education

Brokering behaviour change: the work of behavioural insights experts in government

A behavioural insights community has emerged within a growing number of governments. While this community helps to make policies more behavioural science based, its frontstage role models tend to assume a straightforward, instrumental and apolitical view of the science–policy relationship that seems unrealistic. This article therefore examines what goes on backstage in this community, based on an ethnographic study of behaviour experts in Dutch central government. The article argues that their work consists of a complex palette of practices (that is, choice architecture; analysis; capacity building). Because these practices resemble typical knowledge brokerage work, the article pushes for an envisaging of ‘behaviour experts as knowledge brokers’.

Toward more effective regional networks

Regional networks have become a popular way for the Dutch central government to translate national ambitions into regional policies and actions. This thesis focuses on regional networks in the public-policy fields of education and employment, which consist of various actors, including schools, local governments and businesses. This thesis provides better understanding of both the organization and effects of regional networks, and the attempts of the central government to ‘work across organizational boundaries,’ so as to facilitate these networks. Strategies for making better use of regional networks are offered. Its findings are relevant to regional networks that are stimulated top-down by central government, as well as to regional networks that arise bottom-up, as a result of the decentralization of tasks to local governments.

Diversity management for all? An empirical analysis of diversity management outcomes across groups

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine if and how diversity management outcomes differ across non-native and native Dutch groups within public sector organizations. The effects of diversity management on the extent employees feel their organizational environment is inclusive and on their attitudes and behaviour, are expected to be dependent on how diversity management is perceived by non-native and native Dutch employees in the organization. Drawing on social exchange theory, the authors expect that employees who positively value diversity management practices will reciprocate through showing attitudes and behaviours that are valued by the organization. Since social exchange refers to a social relationship between the employee and the organization that goes beyond the formal contract alone, the authors analyse affective commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) as employee outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyse data from a quantitative survey of a sample of Dutch central government employees and use structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse the consequences of diversity management across non-native and native Dutch employee groups. Findings – Results show that diversity management is associated with higher levels of inclusion which in turn boosts affective commitment and OCB of both non-native and native Dutch employees. Practical implications – The findings show that higher levels of diversity management is associated with an increased inclusive environment, which in turn boosts employees’ affective commitment and OCB. This effect is equal for social-demographic diverse groups. Public managers should therefore implement diversity management that focus on creating an environment that is inclusive for all employees. The positive employee attitudes and behaviour resulting from this can contribute to achieving organizational goals. Originality/value – This paper combines theory on diversity management outcomes and social exchange to empirically explore and explain group differences by testing these linkages using SEM.

Advies aan de regering: staatscommissies in Nederland tussen 1814 en 1970

Continuing debate concerning the functioning of advisory boards to the Dutch central government seems hindered by lacking historical insight and insufficient empirical data. Especially the period until 1970 and so-called state committees (an important type of advisory board) have been neglected. This article therefore presents findings from historical research into Dutch state committees between 1814 and 1970. We provide a hitherto lacking overview of their origin, numbers, composition, functioning and topics. We also provide a first quantitative analysis to investigate the question what state committee activity tells us about continuity and change of the task perception of subsequent Dutch governments in this period. We argue that the so-called ‘night watchman state’ of the long 19th century (in which government did as least as possible) does become apparent from the number of state committees over time but that it seems never to have existed when we look at the topics they dealt with. Furthermore, the Dutch welfare state (said to have existed from the 1930s onwards) shows much less state committee activity then one would expect. We conclude with urgent questions for future research into advice and advisory boards in The Netherlands and introduce a digital database to facilitate such work.

Adopting open source software in public administration: The importance of boundary spanners and political commitment

Open source software (OSS) adoption in public administrations around the world has been uneven. Despite the substantive economic and efficiency-related implications of OSS adoption, there is surprisingly little research into the determinants of the diffusion of OSS across public sector jurisdictions. In this article we explore the variation in OSS adoption among Dutch local administrations. The Dutch central government adopted a policy to stimulate the use of OSS in the public sector, but the non-mandatory character of the policy resulted in great differences in the degree of adoption of OSS at the local level. Using data from a new survey of municipalities in the Netherlands and proportional odds statistical models to analyze the data, we show that the degree of OSS adoption crucially depends on the presence of boundary spanners and political commitment within the local government. On the other hand, oft-suspected factors like financial stress and jurisdiction size have no discernible effects. Our findings have implications for understanding the spread of OSS in the public sector and for public policies designed to encourage OSS diffusion.

Dutch Central Government Elites from 1980 to 2012: Changing Characteristics and Interactions with Political Officeholders

Résumé La haute fonction publique d’État néerlandaise a rarement été décrite en termes élitistes dans un pays avec une forte culture sociale égalitaire. Cet article analyse les caractéristiques des élites administratives néerlandaises, leur perception des relations qu’elles entretiennent avec les responsables politiques, l’influence du New Public Management sur leur mode de fonctionnement et la façon dont leur rôle et leur position dans le système politico?administratif sont influencés par les alternances politiques et les réformes institutionnelles comme la création du Senior Executive Service.

De mythe van de terugtrekkende overheid: een verhaal over Europese idealen en erotische tekorten

In this paper it is argued that the discourse on the retreating government is a story about mobilizing executive power deemed necessary for enforcing a neoliberal worldview. The intellectual discourse about the retreating government, the argument goes, develops as a radical and neoliberal critique of the Keynesian planning and organization of the enlightenment – an organization that is above all expressed in the postwar welfare state. The Dutch policy discourse, by contrast, is of a practical nature: it is about the organization of the government retreat. In the reconstruction of the policy discourse, as it is manifest in leading policy documents of the Dutch central government, it is observed that this discourse has emancipated from the intellectual discourse. The policy discourse of the retreating government has developed into a financial management discourse, free from European ideals

Loosely Coupled Results Control in Dutch Municipalities

This paper analyses the implementation of the ‘dual system’ in Dutch municipalities which was part of a package of New Public Management‐reforms. This system was stimulated by Dutch central government and called for more accountability for performance of municipal managers and the board of mayor and aldermen, as well as for the use of more output and outcome information. Interviews of participants on four different hierarchical levels in 12 municipalities show that the practices of output management at different hierarchical levels are only loosely coupled to each other (‘vertical loose coupling’). We also found some degree of ‘horizontal loose coupling’ at each hierarchical level between result orientation, the development of output indicators and the use of output information for performance evaluation. The paper analyses the reasons why municipalities encounter difficulties in designing a comprehensive and coherent performance management system.