Big Data is the new hype in municipal policy and the promise of Big Data is rationalization: better policy that is based on better information. In this article the authors investigate the extent to which the use of Big Data in municipal organizations results in a more rational policy process. Their empirical research was held in two Dutch municipalities: Tilburg, in the south of the Netherlands, and Assen, in the north of the Netherlands. They investigated how Tilburg deploys Big Data for the fight against crime and Assen is trying to improve its traffic management with Big Data. Their analysis shows that policy, more so than in the past, is being steered by specific information because Big Data is being used. The rationalization of policy, however, is limited by the possibilities of Big Data and by political dynamics. Their final conclusion therefore is that the uncertainty, unfamiliarity, complexity and constant change are partly made manageable and controllable by the use of Big Data in municipal organizations. Politics is also partly ‘tamed’ because politicians have to relate to ‘objective data’ from information systems. |
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Column |
Krokodillentranen voor het Afrikamuseum |
Auteurs | Prof. mr. dr. Helen Stout |
Auteursinformatie |
Artikel |
Big Data: een revolutie in gemeentelijk beleid? |
Auteurs | Tom Daalhuijsen MSc, Sebastiaan Steenman MSc en Prof. dr. Albert Meijer |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Artikel |
De duurzaamheid van burgerinitiatievenEen empirische verkenning |
Auteurs | Malika Igalla BSc en Dr. Ingmar van Meerkerk |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Citizens’ initiatives are the focus of public attention as part of the popular ‘do-democracy’ (associative democracy). However, it is not clear to what extent citizens are able to shape self-organization in a sustainable manner, what the important factors in this respect are and if citizens’ initiatives are the sole preserve of a better educated group of citizens. Through a secondary quantitative analysis of 56 citizens’ initiatives, this article offers an empirical contribution to answering these questions. The authors explore the effects of three possible factors on the sustainability of citizens’ initiatives: the network structure of the citizens’ initiative, the organizational design of the initiative and the revenue model. They show significant relationships between the organizational design of citizens’ initiatives and their sustainability. They also show a relationship between the network structure of these initiatives and their sustainability: initiatives that develop into a fully connected network or a polycentric network are more sustainable than initiatives with a star network. The personal characteristics of the initiators show a dispersal in age, descent, gender and retirement. Relatively speaking, many initiators have a high level of education: 80% has a higher professional or university education. But there are no significant relations between these personal characteristics and the sustainability of citizens’ initiatives. |
Artikel |
Spanningsvolle verbindingen tussen verticale en horizontale sturingEen empirische analyse van de Dialoogtafel in Groningen |
Auteurs | Drs. Arnout Ponsioen, Drs. Mildo van Staden en Prof. dr. Albert Meijer |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article analyses the Dialogue Table (‘Dialoogtafel’ in Dutch) in Groningen, the most northern province in the Netherlands, as an example of connecting vertical and horizontal steering. The Dialogue Table was set up to supervise the spending of compensation money for the damage from the earthquakes caused by gas extraction in this province. The Dialogue Table combines vertical forms of governance, such as a unilateral imposition of the budget and the presidency of the Dialogue Table, and more horizontal forms such as equal deliberation between administrative bodies and stakeholders. The central questions are which tensions will occur in these two different logics of steering, how one deals with these tensions and which competences this requires from civil servants. An exploratory analysis of the case shows that tensions occur around (1) the starting conditions (costs, presidency, selection and representation), (2) the progress of the process (desired results, openness, inequality) and (3) the outcomes of the process (influence). On the basis of their research, the authors offer recommendations about the organization of such hybrid steering processes and indicate which competences are required in this respect from civil servants. |
Praktijk |
Woorden die werken: spraakmakend leiderschap van gemeentesecretarissen |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Mark van Twist, Dr. Martijn van der Steen, Marij Swinkels MA e.a. |
Auteursinformatie |
Praktijk |
Reflectie door vier spraakmakende leidersReactie uit de bestuurlijke praktijk |
Auteurs | Ir. Jan van Ginkel, Drs. Philippe Raets, Drs. Piet Buijtels e.a. |
Auteursinformatie |
Praktijk |
Internationale tijdschriften en boeken |
Auteurs | Dr. Rik Reussing |
Auteursinformatie |