Value for Money in Government: The Netherlands 2010
Public administration has entered a new age. In the 1980s, “less” government was the prevailing idea; in the 1990s and early 21st century, “New Public Management” was the dominant theme. Today, public administration is moving in new directions. Reforms are focusing on the quality of services for citizens and businesses and on the efficiency of administration (the “back office” of government). The OECD is studying these new trends in a multi-annual, cross-country project called “Value for Money in Government”.
This publication focuses on the Netherlands and provides an overview of previous Dutch reforms and recommendations for further reforms in view of the need to get better value for money from government.
Reforming the Dutch central government: Recommendations
This chapter presents the ten reforms or reform trends from the list of 70 to be presented in Building on Basics (OECD, forthcoming) that, in the view of the OECD Secretariat, are particularly interesting for the Netherlands. Each section will conclude with recommendations to the Dutch government. Indications of potential quality improvements and savings will be provided in the final section.