Integrity should be at the heart of all council activity. When the public puts its trust in elected officials and those working for local government organisations are responsible for spending citizens’ taxes in an appropriate manner, it is essential that they uphold the highest standards of integrity at all times. This means having frameworks in...
Your council takes a decision. There is a proposal, a debate, amendments and a vote. Ten years from now, someone needs to be able to reconstruct that whole story, in a system that probably will not exist any more. That is exactly what the Archiefwet 2026 asks of you. The act enters into force on...
On 1 January 2027, the Archiefwet 2026 replaces the Dutch Archives Act of 1995. That is only months away, and it is no longer a target date. The Eerste Kamer approved the bill on 12 May 2026 and the act was published in the Staatsblad on 19 June 2026, which formalised both the citation title...
In the Netherlands, the Temporary Act on Digital Deliberation and Decision-Making provided the necessary legal basis for digital decision-making at a time when it was not possible to hold physical gatherings. Now that law has expired, the Tweede Kamer has adopted a permanent replacement – the Digital Meetings Act. At the time of this writing,...
Since the 2023 financial year, under Wet versterking decentrale rekenkamers, Dutch municipalities have been obliged to include a statement in their annual accounts explaining whether their income, spending and balance-sheet transactions followed the relevant financial rules. However, only 37% of the Dutch municipalities assessed in a 2025 report concluded that their financial activities were compliant,...
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that having a say over the actions of governing bodies increases trust in those bodies by 3.1%. However, less than half of Dutch citizens (39%) believed they were able to contribute to decision-making. The current status of participation in Dutch municipalities is mixed. For example, in...
Civic participation can be beneficial to both residents and municipalities and other public bodies. The European Commission reports that it can improve resource efficiency and build transparency, whilst fostering “inclusivity, ensuring that all voices are heard in decision-making processes. It builds public trust in government institutions by providing residents with the opportunity to directly influence...
Artificial intelligence has become a common feature of the workplace. McKinsey found that 88% of organisations regularly used AI in at least one business function by the end of 2025. This was up from 78% a year previously. However, only a third of companies have begun scaling AI across the entire business, despite 64% confirming...