About CBS

Mission and core values

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) occupies a unique position in the dynamic environment outlined above. Its mission is to compile and publish reliable, coherent statistical information which meets the needs of Dutch society. CBS’ core values are derived from this mission. It seeks to be reliable, objective and society-oriented. This position and mission are based on the statutory task set for CBS: creating an independent and objective map of society by producing reliable statistics, reporting on its findings and performing its work efficiently and accurately.

The statistics produced by CBS are a public good; public access is therefore a fundamental element of its statistics. As also prescribed by the European Statistics Code of Practice, CBS actively publishes all results of its statistical research on its website. Open data are made available on the CBS open data portal and interactively through StatLine. In line with the Open op Orde action plan (aimed at improving central government information management and transparency), CBS is also investing in public access to its administrative information so as to be able to respond promptly to requests from citizens and enterprises.

Data access

In order to produce reliable statistics while simultaneously reducing the administrative burden for citizens and enterprises, CBS has been granted access to government data by law. Data that have already been collected by other government organisations can therefore be reused and consolidated for statistical purposes by CBS. CBS also collects information through surveys of enterprises, institutions and individuals. A complicating factor is that the societal reality is changing and new data sources needed to describe the changes are not always accessible to CBS.

Research and innovation

Innovation is necessary to achieve the objectives described in this Multi-annual Programme, through (possibly large-scale) innovations and incremental improvements. These innovations and improvements focus on current needs and the more distant future. They are intended to add value to CBS’ services for society and hence also to the three strategic objectives proposed in this Multi-annual Programme. Some examples are included in boxes in this Multi-annual Programme.

Their aim is to improve the culture of innovation in the organisation, partly through the development of the workforce, transparent communication on the innovations being developed and active cooperation with other parties, including both commercial parties and educational institutions. This will enable CBS to continue offering its employees challenging work now and in the future.

Innovations and improvements will be made during the planning period, for example, with regard to new methods and techniques for data collection, the processing and analysis of data within our statistical processes and making our output widely accessible. Examples include the use of techniques that permanently guarantee privacy as the volume of data grows. In the field of data collection, new data collection methods can use information from smart devices, such as smartphones. Statistical research will also be conducted jointly with educational institutions into developments in areas such as the labour market, education and demographics. Given the longer duration of this type of research, not all added value will be realised within the term of this Multi-annual Programme.

Performance of CBS’ duties between the public and the market

CBS has been subject to the Statistics Netherlands Regulation on Activities for Third Parties and the Policy Rule on Statistics Netherlands’ Performance of its Duties since 1 July 2020. CBS has devoted a lot of effort to implementing the regulation and the policy rule in the organisation and will also remain committed to compliance in the forthcoming planning period. Compliance with the regulation and the policy rule is therefore an integral part of the strategic objectives set out in this Multi-annual Programme. The public task of the CBS is to carry out statistical research on account of the government for practice, policy and research purposes and to publish the statistics compiled on the basis of such research. It therefore critically assesses all requests from third parties (private operators) to carry out work and only fulfils such requests if the regulation provides a basis for doing so. In the case of requests from government bodies, CBS records the reasons for having the work carried out by CBS and actively draws government bodies' attention to the possibility of having the work performed by a private service provider. CBS refrains from approaching parties on its own initiative to offer statistical services and does not compete for contracts for which a tendering procedure has been initiated. CBS is nevertheless an active data partner of the government and may approach a government body if compelling public interests so require. CBS charges the full cost price.

A competition specialist in the organisation independently advises the Director General on the application of the rules. The Advisory Council, supplemented by an additional member with knowledge of competition law, includes compliance as a permanent item on its agenda. Commercial operators can file complaints about CBS’ conduct in relation to these rules with an independent, external complaints committee. Based on the results of the evaluation currently conducted by an external party on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, CBS will gauge the extent to which the implementation of the rules needs to be reassessed.

Financial parameters

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy provides the basic budget for the performance of CBS’ statutory duties (see also the Finance chapter). The activities that CBS will carry out are outlined in the Multi-annual Programme. These activities fulfil CBS’ statutory duties and fit within the financial and organisational parameters.