Samenvatting

Progressing digitalisation, reinforced by the advance of sensor technology, has given an important impulse to the development of local monitors, which can be used to map policy-relevant trends in various policy areas periodically and/or in real time. Making optimal use of the information from monitoring for policy and implementation (‘effect’) remains an important challenge. This article examines the effect and impact of monitoring reports and user satisfaction surveys that were published by the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management’s (‘Rijkswaterstaat’) network monitoring teams in the period from 2015 to 2017. Specific questions include the nature and extent of the effect, critical success factors, the extent to which there is a learning, specific challenges and dilemmas that Rijkswaterstaat is confronted with and possible solutions for them. In this article, these questions are answered based on theoretical observations and practical insights that have been gathered when monitoring the network. The lessons and insights gathered are also relevant for actors who want to monitor policy and implementation more effectively at local and regional levels. An important lesson is that in (local) monitoring, the story behind the figures is very important for further interpretation of numerical trends. Data quality is an important precondition. An important political lesson is that the possibilities for adjusting policy are partly determined by dependency relationships of other (f)actors and the (political) receptivity to possible course changes as a result of signals from monitors. An important cultural lesson is that (local) monitoring can strengthen a common orientation on the identified (policy) challenges. A culture in which the focus is on learning rather than judgment is an important condition for effective follow-up.