Statistics Netherlands voted Best Government Organisation of the Year 2015
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has been voted Best Government Organisation of the Year 2015. Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker announced this last night on behalf of the Association for Government Management (VOM) at the Knights’ Hall in The Hague.
Altogether, 216 Dutch government organisations participated in the contest. After a preselection by the organisation, the jury evaluated the ten best entries on the basis of ten criteria, including reliability, professionalism and openness. The jury selected three finalists: Avri, FIOD and CBS. After paying working visits, the jury selected CBS as the winner last night. The jury report expressed appreciation for the way in which CBS reaches out to society and the expertise present in the CBS organisation.
CBS director general dr Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi: 'I consider it an honour for CBS to receive this award. It will motivate us to continue innovating our methods of data collection and data processing while making our information more widely available to society.'
About the awarding contest Best Government Organisation of the Year 2015
Best Government Organisation of the Year is an initiative by the Association for Government Management, in cooperation with the Union of District Waterboards, the Association for Public Administration, the Interprovincial Consultative Body, the Home Department, ICTU, the Association of Dutch Municipalities and the Quality Institute Dutch Municipalities. With the contest, the organisation seeks to improve transparency and knowledge-sharing within the public administration sector by supporting good initiatives and improving the performance of public bodies.
The jury includes the following persons:
- Liesbeth Spies (president of the jury and mayor of Alphen aan den Rijn)
- Loes Mulder (director general of the Dutch Senior Civil Service)
- Dagmar Winkelhorst (Young Civil Servant of the Year 2014)
- Paul 't Hart (professor Management and Organisation at Utrecht University, dean of the Dutch School for Public Administration and chairman of the Association for Public Administration)
- Paulien Pistor (council secretary to the municipality of Eindhoven)
- Erik Gerritsen (secretary general at the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sport)
- Annet van Schreven (provincial council secretary to the province of Drenthe)
- Eric Jongmans (director of the district waterboard Rivierenland)
Former winners of the title Best Government Organisation of the Year are the Dutch Agency for the Protection of Juveniles Amsterdam Region (2014) and the municipality of Deurne (2013).