Information platforms can facilitate data sharing and make new applications possible. It is essential to connect a wide range of both public and private parties to a platform if real data-based transformation is to get off the ground. However, organizations are reluctant to share data if they do not know exactly what it can be used for or if they have no direct interest in it. Achieving a good solution requires a lot from the innovation process itself and the way it is managed. This article uses three innovation perspectives for the analysis of a logistics information platform. This analysis shows that different stages in the development of an information platform can be distinguished, each with its own dynamic. For local government the involvement of and connection to local parties is important, while innovation as a whole benefits from the link with an overarching agenda that transcends the local level.

In this special issue, recent public sector reforms in South Africa, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, Singapore and Denmark are analysed. Reforms in the public sector are by and large explained as a chronological development from traditional bureaucracy, via New Public Management to New Public Governance. This is also the way the many administrative reforms in the Dutch public sector are often explained.
The articles give insight in the administrative developments in these countries and their background. They also offer the opportunity to make comparisons with administrative developments in the Netherlands, and to draw lessons. The analyses show that the dominant explanation of reforms in the public sector (from traditional bureaucracy, to New Public Management to New Public Governance) is helpful in making sense of administrative developments, but they put this explanation into perspective too.
For the Dutch situation yet another insight came to light. We often complain that the Dutch processes are cumbersome, take long and involve many -if not all- stakeholders. A close reading of the contributions from abroad must inevitably change this pejorative view on our national sport: the cumbersome process provides valuable checks and balances, that will help to fight the drawbacks and risks that we have seen in the international cases.

Wicked problems ask for new, smart forms of governance beyond a singular focus on hierarchy, market or community. Based on the case studies presented in the individual articles of this special issue, this concluding article describes what smart governance could entail and discusses its strengths and weaknesses, both as a concept and a practical tool.

Alhoewel het gebruik van beleidsevaluaties (of het gebrek eraan) een van de meest besproken thema’s is in de evaluatieliteratuur, berust veel onderzoek over het thema enkel op anekdotisch bewijs, en zijn er nauwelijks studies beschikbaar die aandacht hebben voor de samenhang tussen verschillende factoren die impact kunnen hebben op het gebruik. In voorliggend artikel presenteren we de resultaten van een studie waarin we hebben getracht om op een systematische wijze inzicht te bieden in de combinaties van factoren die instrumenteel gebruik van beleidsevaluaties bevorderen of verhinderen. We onderzochten in dit verband alle evaluaties die in de periode 2013-2016 werden uitgevoerd bij de Inspectie Ontwikkelingssamenwerking en Beleidsevaluatie. Via Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) bekeken we welke combinaties van de volgende factoren als noodzakelijk en/of voldoende bleken voor evaluatiegebruik: (1) politiek gehalte van het onderwerp, (2) interesse van de beleidsmakers, (3) aanwezigheid van nieuwe kennis in de evaluatie, en (4) de timing van de evaluatie.
Voor de praktijk van beleidsmakers en evaluatoren benadrukken we het belang van tijdigheid en interesse voor een evaluatie. Onze analyse laat zien dat professionals die op deze factoren inzetten, een gunstig klimaat creëren voor het gebruik van evaluaties. Wat betreft tijdigheid lijkt het van belang de evaluatie te laten sporen met het schrijfwerk van een beleidsafdeling aan nieuw beleid of grote beleidsveranderingen. Goede anticipatie en een sterke institutionalisering van het evaluatieproces zijn hiertoe cruciaal. Of het thema van de evaluatie een sterke politieke gevoeligheid kent, is minder belangrijk. Mits sprake is van de juiste omgevingscondities, kunnen ook dergelijke evaluaties sterk instrumenteel worden benut.

On a regular basis, the funding of football stadiums is an issue for large cities. Since football clubs appeal to the municipality for financial support, this is a public matter. Why should a municipality invest in a private project, such as a football stadium? What are the opportunities and risks? What is the public value of a stadium for the city? Based on literature reviews and case studies in Eindhoven and Amsterdam, this article examines what government involvement in stadium projects means, and what the outcomes of this involvement are. The cases show that stadiums may have social and economic spin-off effects on their surroundings, but one cannot take that for granted. Careful processes and elaborate strategies are needed for public investment in stadiums to really add value to the city. Based on the analyses, an assessment framework is presented for the benefit of new stadium project initiatives.

During the 1980s and 1990s, successive Dutch governments reformed public transport by introducing market-type mechanisms. However, these New Public Management-style reforms have only been introduced half-heartedly because governments also tried to avoid the negative effects of NPM. On some fronts, the reforms have undoubtedly led to improved quality (better and newer material) and more choice for governments regarding how to organize public transport because there are several new providers. But on other fronts, these positive effects have been hampered by fragmentation, leading to calls for another overhaul of the system. This article chronicles the developments in public transport and discusses which new steps could be taken.

By law Dutch companies providing drinking water have to remain in public hands. In practice, public shareholders often fulfil their role in an informal fashion and without much engagement. They hardly intervene to protect the public interest. Public ownership is deemed to be crucial but its effects are difficult to measure. In this article, we examine the (ever changing and varying) institutional conditions of two public water companies and discuss whether these conditions enable public shareholders to properly control these companies. By comparing the opinions and experiences of directly involved respondents, this article aims to answer the question whether and how public shareholders are able to act as regulators. There are indications that this kind of regulation will not be efficient enough when needed, though those involved do not see this as a problem. This article offers suggestions for municipalities and provinces to reflect more on their role in the drinking water sector.

In this literature review we present and discuss the key concepts of this symposium issue: (good) governance, (public) values, and the management of tensions between public values. The article concludes with an overview of strategies on how to deal with public values as a prelude to the remainder of the symposium, and discusses the implications of the distinguished strategies for public administration practice.

Horizontal governance arrangements potentially conflict with the very principles of representative democracy and, likewise, with the existing political institutions. This conflict manifests itself in the interaction between representatives and the executive power: although the former have the formal power, the latter participates in horizontal networks and therefore has the resources that are necessary to form good policy. This erodes the power position of representatives. Frame work setting is commonly suggested as an arrangement for representatives to enhance their grip on policy processes in network-settings. The authors of this contribution examine the effects of frame setting as coupling mechanism between horizontal networks and vertical politics in six policy processes in a Dutch Province. Based on both theory and research findings they redefine the concept of framework setting in order to make it more attuned to the complex, interdependent and dynamic nature of policy-making in networks.