In this paper we study the institutional impact of the Dutch senior executive service (Dutch: Algemene Bestuursdienst, hereafter: ABD) on the craft of senior civil servants in Dutch government. Our study rests upon a thorough evaluation conducted in 2020. For this study, we interviewed 51 (former) cabinet ministers, members of parliament, senior civil servants, HR experts and ‘outsiders’. We structure our paper in three parts. First, we discuss the founding principles and motives for the institutional renewal that became the ABD. Second, we discuss the ABD’s practice. Third, we signal and interpret the outcomes of the ABD so far. This results in five critical observations. We conclude the ABD has become an institutional fact. Nonetheless, the ABD could have done more to transcend the focus on individual appointments and development of collective craftmanship, and to visibly shape and protect such craftmanship. |
Thema-artikel |
Vernieuwing van vakmanschapEen kritische analyse van de professionaliseringsactiviteiten van de Algemene Bestuursdienst (ABD) |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 2 2022 |
Trefwoorden | Algemene Bestuursdienst (ABD), Senior Civil Servants, Public Managers, Craftwork, Professionalisation, Institutionalisation |
Auteurs | Mirko Noordegraaf en Erik-Jan van Dorp |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Thema |
Reflecties over de rol van de reactieve burger in een wereld in crisis |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurs­wetenschappen, Aflevering 2 2022 |
Auteurs | Tine De Moor en Ton Duffhues |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
At the beginning of the corona crisis, there was a real wave of solidarity actions, for example people helping each other in villages and neighbourhoods, and buying food from close by. At the same time, opinion articles appeared about the historical-social context in which the COVID-19 virus could have such a rapid impact on society. These two observations have led to this research into the potential of citizen collectives in times of crisis. First, it was shown that, in combating the pandemic, governments paid little or no attention to the possibilities of citizen collectives to reach citizens in villages, districts and neighbourhoods through direct, personal channels. In contrast, the analysis of 20 opinion articles from the period March-June 2020 shows that the value shifts that most authors consider desirable to address the big issues in society are a good fit with the values that citizen collectives represent. For three domains – care and housing, work and food – this is illustrated with existing practices and new needs. Their conclusion is that the government would do well to make a strong appeal to the organizing capacity of active citizens, their networks and community strength when tackling major social challenges related to climate, energy, care, food and housing. |
Thema |
Op de tastOver complexiteit van contact in tijden van corona |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurs­wetenschappen, Aflevering 2 2022 |
Auteurs | Els van der Pool en Guido Rijnja |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
As soon as uncertainty rears its head, mistrust increases and people seek interpretation and clarity. Both reactions strongly appeal to the ability of public organisations to make contact precisely then, at the critical moments. That’s no mean feat. What makes establishing and perpetuating contact in a unique context such as the corona crisis so complex? That question is central to this contribution. The authors set up their consideration from the philosophy of appreciative communication. The complexity lies in several things, first of all, the necessary customisation. Management is communication and communication is people’s work and that makes it custom work. In a crisis, you cannot simply fall back on protocols, existing policies, etc. The situation requires constant reassessment, coordination and making choices. In addition, you have to make those choices in an ever-changing context that is characterised by factors such as the initial invisibility of the problem, the unprecedented scale, the uncertain course, the indivisibility of the government, and the unease with the government. In combination with a number of faltering communicative levers, various tensions arise that complicate the contact and thus the administrative task. The authors identify seven contact keys from the philosophy of appreciative communication that can be helpful in practice and conclude with a review of these ideas based on the communicative tasks identified by the Dutch Safety Board in its first evaluation. What takes place in a crisis is not an isolated communicative task that can be outsourced, but reveals a quality that is the guiding principle in everyone’s – managerial – actions. |
Artikel |
Samenzicht kweken in beleidsteams via visualiserend vergaderen |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 2 2022 |
Trefwoorden | policy teams, Visualizing, Meetings, Consensus, Governance |
Auteurs | Edward van Aarle, Hubert Korzilius, Lyan Kroondijk e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
During meetings, policy teams run the risk of producing false consensus and personal conflicts. Asserting one’s own viewpoint often reduces hearing those of others. Changing this requires developing recognition of the perspective of other team members, without depreciating one’s own. We aimed to study the effect of visualizing team members’ views of a problematic situation and their proposed policy approaches. We explored the feasibility of a network diagram visualization method, by assessing team members attitude towards it, expectations about the policy progress and its influence on their mental representation of the policy problem at hand. A field trial was conducted in two policy teams in two non-profit organizations: one healthcare and one financial. In both cases, we compared the newly developed visualization method with meeting as usual. Open and semi-structured interviews were used to collect team members’ views. The qualitative and quantitative analyses showed enhanced mental representations by means of visualization and positive ratings of both the method and its expected effect on consequent policy quality. In conclusion, the results warrant substantive investment into further large-scale research as to sample size, time window, and into its generalizability towards collaborative governance. |
Vrij artikel |
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Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 1 2022 |
Trefwoorden | credibility, educational governance, educational law, schoolboards, school leaders, governing capacity |
Auteurs | Marlies Honingh, Martijn Nolen en Margriet van der Sluis |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Both in a legal and in a practical sense, the tasks of executives in school boards are difficult to delineate. Consequently, credibility of boards and their members has become topical. What makes an executive board credible? How do executives become and remain credible? In this article we address these questions and present the results of our qualitative analysis of the way in which executives in primary education give meaning and substance to their efforts. Based on the empirical results, it appears that executives of the board are well aware of the need to be perceived credible. It also appears that they take this into account in their daily behavior and interactions. |
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Tijdschrift | Beleidsonderzoek Online, maart 2022 |
Auteurs | Vera Ramaker, Mandy Gijzen, Stephanie Leone e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Het evalueren van maatschappelijke relevantie is niet altijd vanzelfsprekend voor financiers of onderzoekers. Dit lijkt vaak te abstract of verheven. Met name onderzoekers zijn gewend om de effectiviteit van een interventie op een bepaald doel of een bepaalde doelgroep te meten, maar breiden hun bevindingen niet uit naar hoe dit relevant kan zijn voor het veld. Aan de hand van een praktijkvoorbeeld, het ZonMw-onderzoeksprogramma Suïcidepreventie, wordt besproken hoe de maatschappelijke relevantie is geëvalueerd en welke uitdagingen dit met zich mee brengt. Zo is er geen eenduidige objectieve manier om maatschappelijke relevantie te evalueren. Ook waren de onderzoeksmethoden van de projecten binnen het onderzoeksprogramma erg verschillend. De aanbevelingen vanuit dit project kunnen toekomstige onderzoekers helpen om de maatschappelijke relevantie van hun onderzoek te evalueren. Verdere ontwikkeling en implementatie van gestandaardiseerde methoden of tools die de complexiteit binnen en tussen projecten vastleggen en maatschappelijke relevantie kunnen beoordelen, zijn nodig. |
Artikel |
De veranderende rol van provincies bij de uitvoering van hun beleid voor maatschappelijke betrokkenheid bij natuur |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering Online First 2022 |
Trefwoorden | nature policy, governance strategies, Province, social engagement, Grants |
Auteurs | Tineke de Boer, Didi van Doren, Dana Kamphorst e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Promoting societal engagement with nature is an important policy ambition of Dutch nature policy. This article provides an overview of how the provinces together with stakeholders have shaped their policy to increase the societal engagement of citizens with nature in recent years. The goals and governance modes embedded in the policy programs were analyzed, and results and experiences of the various involved parties with the policy were reviewed. Based on a national review and in dept study of three cases, this article describes different regional approaches for increasing societal engagement. In addition it discusses the recent developments within this policy field. |
Thema-artikel |
Van waterschappen naar ‘klimaatschappen’? Kansen en belemmeringen voor strategische herpositionering in tijden van crisis |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 4 2021 |
Trefwoorden | water boards, climate crisis, strategic repositioning, integrated planning, mission mystique |
Auteurs | Margo van den Brink en Britta Restemeyer |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Dutch water boards are commonly viewed as important player in making the Netherlands climate-proof, resonating in calls to transform water boards into ‘climate boards’. Upcoming legislative changes (i.e. the Environment and Planning Act) stress the importance of integrated approaches, emphasizing spatial quality and collaboration. Dutch water boards are therefore in a strategic repositioning process, in which the relation to the spatial planning domain stands central. The institutions’ adaptation process started already in the 1990s, yet the urgency of the current climate crisis makes it more pressing. However, strategic repositioning might be hampered due to the corona crisis. An acute crisis can absorb all attention and thereby impede a long-term transition. The question is, though, if this also applies to the water boards, as they do not have a primary responsibility in combatting Covid-19. Based on a framing analysis of strategic position papers and interviews with water board employees, we shed light on this repositioning process by identifying the water boards’ new ‘mission mystique’ and accompanying opportunities and dilemmas. We conclude that water boards remain rather cautious in living up to their new mission of a proactive partner in integrated planning; they could use their strong reputation as water authorities to act more courageous in climate-related spatial planning decisions. |
Artikel |
Transitietheorie in de beleidspraktijkVan cherry picking naar robuuste onderbouwing |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 4 2021 |
Trefwoorden | Transition policy, Social change theory, Sustainability, Normativity, Energy policy |
Auteurs | Albert Faber |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Policy makers who work on sustainability transitions are well informed by transition science. As many scientific disciplines transition science comprises several theories and schools of thought, with distinct concepts and logical frames. The implication is that we can distinguish – subtle and implicit – different normative assumptions about, e.g., role of government, theory of social change, object of policy and issues of power. Such normative assumptions could then translate into policy, often without a proper assessment. This article aims to make such normative assumptions in transition theories more explicit. I explore how these normative elements translate into actual transition policy in a case of Dutch policy for ‘regional energy strategies’. Revealing normative elements in transition policy (or any policy field) can help policy makers to avoid pitfalls of conceptual cherry picking, thus contributing to transition policy that is scientifically and normatively robust. |
Thema-artikel |
Naar een politiek-bestuurlijke herdefinitie van pandemische paraatheidSturing van de COVID-19-respons in Azië en Europa |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 3 2021 |
Trefwoorden | pandemic preparedness, COVID-19 governance, welfare state failure, mitigation and control, political economy |
Auteurs | Marleen Bekker en Ivo ten Have |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Despite the highest ranks on pandemic preparedness assessments European welfare states encounter great difficulty in responding effectively to the COVID-19 outbreak. In this article we compare the governance of COVID-19 response in 48 Eurasian countries and a selection of European and SARS (2003) exposed Asian countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak until 1 June 2020, using data from the COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor and the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, recent scientific literature and policy documents. |
Vrij artikel |
Permanent falenHet (niet-)gebruik van kwaliteitssystemen in de GGZ |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 3 2021 |
Trefwoorden | performance measurement, quality control, mental health care, institutional theory |
Auteurs | Marieke Van Geffen, Taco Brandsen, Christiaan J. Lako e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In this article we present the results of research into quality control systems in Dutch mental health care (GGZ). So far, little is known about the efficacy of quality control systems in this sector. A mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods has been applied (interviews, focus groups, questionnaires and document analysis) to find out how these systems were applied in mental health care and how their use could be explained. |
Thema-artikel |
Tweebenig besturen binnen zorgnetwerkenBesturen tijdens de ‘hamer’ en de ‘dans’ in zorgregio west |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 3 2021 |
Trefwoorden | network management, health care managers, innovation, consolidation, health care networks, COVID-19, crisis management |
Auteurs | Jelmer Schalk, Eduard Schmidt, Suzan van der Pas e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Crisis management requires health care managers to simultaneously innovate, i.e. to adjust – and to consolidate, i.e. to provide stability. COVID-19 was no exception in this respect. In this study, we ask to what extent multi-actor and multi-level health care networks stimulate or hinder balancing innovation and consolidation. We present the results of a qualitative case study, drawing upon 29 interviews with health care managers in one region in the Netherlands. Our analysis chronologically follows the crisis management response and differentiates between ‘the hammer’ phase (the ‘lockdown’) and the ‘dance’ phase (learning to live with the virus). We show that, especially in the hammer phase, formal networks can contribute to consolidation, yet innovation comes mostly from informal and personal networks. While the hammer phase should help organizations prepare to live and dance with the virus, we show that multi-actor and multi-level networks focus more on idiosyncratic organizational interests, although some of these are in fact productive. We conclude with recommendations for practice. |
Article |
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Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 2 2021 |
Trefwoorden | COVID-19, crisis-management, democratic compensators, exceptionalism |
Auteurs | Tom Massart, Thijs Vos, Clara Egger e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Since January 2020, European countries have implemented a wide range of restrictions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet governments have also implemented democratic compensators in order to offset the negative impacts of restrictions. This article aims to account for the variation of their use between Belgium, the Netherlands and France. We analyse three drivers: the strength of counterpowers, the ruling parties’ ideological leanings and political support. Building on an original data set, our results distinguish between embedded and ad hoc compensators. We find that ad hoc compensators are championed mainly by counterpowers, but also by ideology of the ruling coalitions in Belgium and the Netherlands and used strategically to maintain political support in France. Evidence on the link between embedded compensators and counterpowers is more ambiguous. |
Article |
Interest Representation in BelgiumMapping the Size and Diversity of an Interest Group Population in a Multi-layered Neo-corporatist Polity |
Tijdschrift | Politics of the Low Countries, Aflevering 1 2021 |
Trefwoorden | interest groups, advocacy, access, advisory councils, media attention |
Auteurs | Evelien Willems, Jan Beyers en Frederik Heylen |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This article assesses the size and diversity of Belgium’s interest group population by triangulating four data sources. Combining various sources allows us to describe which societal interests get mobilised, which interest organisations become politically active and who gains access to the policy process and obtains news media attention. Unique about the project is the systematic data collection, enabling us to compare interest representation at the national, Flemish and Francophone-Walloon government levels. We find that: (1) the national government level remains an important venue for interest groups, despite the continuous transfer of competences to the subnational and European levels, (2) neo-corporatist mobilisation patterns are a persistent feature of interest representation, despite substantial interest group diversity and (3) interest mobilisation substantially varies across government levels and political-administrative arenas. |
Artikel |
Rebellerende zorgprofessionalsImproviseren met regels, passie en verantwoording |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 2 2021 |
Trefwoorden | healthcare rebels, administrative burden, quality of care, etnography, accountability |
Auteurs | Iris Wallenburg, Hester van de Bovenkamp, Anne Marie Weggelaar-Jansen e.a. |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Bureaucracy and ‘red tape’ are seen as a main annoyance in healthcare practice. ‘Rules’ like guidelines and performance indicators would withdraw professionals from their real work, that is, helping patients. However, rules may also improve quality of care if they foster high quality practices. In this research, we explore how healthcare rebels deal with rules in their everyday work: how rebels ignore, engender and bend rules to build new environments for doing good care. Drawing on ethnographic research in three hospitals in the Netherlands (2017-2018), we reveal how rebels build and care for clinical microsystems containing their own clinical unit and related contexts (e.g. pharmaceutical suppliers, ICT companies, primary care) to evoke alternative and situated practices of good care delivery – i.e. focusing on quality of life and person-centred care. Rebels enact mechanisms of decoupling and recoupling to disconnect rules that embark on good care in specific patient situations, and build new routines that foster good care. However, such caring practices are hard to generalize as they often occur ‘under the radar’ and hence remain hardly noticed to the outside world. We argue that through revising accounting processes, and paying more attention to narratives of good care, more convenient quality systems could be found. |
Artikel |
Hoe SyRI het belang van transparantie onderstreept |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 3 2021 |
Trefwoorden | SyRI, digitisation, transparency, trust, ICT |
Auteurs | Tosja Selbach en Barbara Brink |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
The Dutch digital fraud detection system SyRI was announced to set up to detect social security fraud quickly and effectively and by doing so, maintain support for the social security system. It was the formal position that for the sake of effectiveness, no information about the algorithm and very limited information about the application of the system should be shared. The authors argue on the basis of a policy analysis, a legal exploration and a literature study that the lack of transparency about the chosen method and the application of the digital fraud detection system in social security can have far-reaching consequences for both the individual and society . The information sharing and the use of algorithms can lead to suspicion of and declining confidence in the government, and a reduced motivation to comply with the prevailing rules. This could undermine the original purpose. |
Artikel |
De invloed van contractuele en relationele aspecten op stakeholdermanagementEen casusstudie van de A9 en A16 DBFM-infrastructuurprojecten |
Tijdschrift | Beleid en Maatschappij, Aflevering 1 2021 |
Trefwoorden | infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships, contractual governance, relational governance, stakeholder management |
Auteurs | Sander Philips MSc, Ir. Bert de Groot en Dr. Stefan Verweij |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
In the past decade, large infrastructure projects in the Netherlands have often been implemented through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), specifically using Design-Build-Finance-Maintain (DBFM) contracts. While the decision to implement projects through PPPs is based on expected advantages for internal parties – the public and private partners in the PPP –, there is a call for more focus on the advantages and disadvantages of PPPs for external stakeholders. External stakeholder management in DBFM projects is based on a contractual division of risks and responsibilities between the partners. However, it is clear from the literature that the contract does not guarantee successful stakeholder management. Relational aspects are important. Little research has been done, however, into the interplay of contractual and relational aspects in achieving successful stakeholder management. This article addresses this research need. A comparative case study was conducted into the PPP projects A9 Gaasperdammerweg and A16 Rotterdam. The study first shows that sanctions, when combined with a relational approach, have a positive effect on the relationships with stakeholders. Second, external stakeholder management cannot be simply outsourced to the private partner and continuous involvement of the public partner is important for success. |
Thema-artikel |
Op zoek naar een verbeeldend utilismeBesluitvormingsinstrumenten voor bestuurders en burgers bij beeldbepalende projecten |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 1 2021 |
Trefwoorden | Iconic projects, Utilitarianism, Imagination, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Participatory Value Evaluation |
Auteurs | Dr. mr. Niek Mouter en Dr. Peter Pelzer |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Sometimes dreams become reality, but there are also many examples in which manic ideas for image-defining projects turn into fiascos. How do you find the right balance in the planning and decision-making of image-defining projects between taming manic mechanisms that cause these projects to fail and unleashing manic mechanisms that are necessary to make these projects happen? This article attempts to answer this question by exploring how the taming of mania (through welfare-economic analysis) and the unleashing of vision and ambition (through imagination) can be combined in a better way. We call this a search for an ‘imaginative utilitarianism’ and draw up three preconditions under which this approach can work: (1) more attention to incremental and less grotesque projects, (2) a different appreciation and historiography that places individuals less centrally and also appreciates what has not been built, and (3) a stronger interweaving between the design process and a welfare-economic approach. |
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Tijdschrift | Bestuurs­wetenschappen, Aflevering 1 2021 |
Auteurs | Lars Brummel, Sjors Overman en Thomas Schillemans |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
This contribution analyzes the degree of relevance that administrators of independent administrative bodies (ZBOs) and agencies assign to their accountability relationships with social stakeholders. Although there is a lot of attention for social forms of accountability in the scientific literature, no large-scale quantitative research has been conducted into how administrators of implementing organizations experience this accountability. This study fills this gap on the basis of survey research by: (1) mapping the importance of forms and practices of social accountability for implementing organizations; and (2) weighing potential explanations for differences in the importance of social accountability in implementing organizations. The authors show that administrators of ZBOs and agencies in the Netherlands attach great importance to accountability towards their broad public environment, also compared to other countries with similar types of implementing organizations. This observation is in line with the Dutch reputation of consensual and interactive governance. Differences in the importance of social accountability between implementing organizations cannot be explained by the vertical accountability relationship with the parent department or other institutional organizational characteristics. The analysis shows that social orientation is greater among ZBOs and agencies where the media has more influence over administrators. Social accountability is associated with greater perceived media pressure. |
Artikel |
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Tijdschrift | Beleidsonderzoek Online, november 2020 |
Auteurs | Eva Kunseler, Lisa Verwoerd en Femke Verwest |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Een reflexieve kijk op beleidsonderzoek gaat uit van continue dynamiek tussen kennisontwikkeling en beleids- en uitvoeringspraktijken. Beleidsonderzoekers zoeken naar houvast om gedegen en relevant onderzoek te blijven doen, onderwijl inspelend op onzekerheden, onvoorspelbaarheid en kritische geluiden die kenmerkend zijn voor de huidige kennissamenleving. Via omgevingsbewust werken kunnen zij hun onderzoeksaanpak leren afstemmen op de kenmerken en maatschappelijke context van beleidsdossiers. Via kwaliteitsbewust werken kunnen zij leren inspelen op de verwachtingen rondom een bepaalde expertrol en onderzoeksaanpak binnen de eigen contexten van onafhankelijkheid en wetenschappelijke verantwoording. |