Digitalization is changing society. It brings opportunities, but also risks. The Digital Agenda 2028 shows how municipalities in the coming years will use the opportunities that digitization offers for major social issues, for the earning capacity of the Netherlands and for better service provision.
The agenda steers on 3 principles when it comes to digitization:
Ensure that digitization fits within norms, democracy and rule of law (norms and democratize);
Deliver services that meet the needs of residents and businesses (enable);
Leveraging digitization for social issues (leveraging opportunities).
Digitalization, according to this 1st principle, must fit within the norms, democracy and rule of law. This is to protect the fundamental rights of residents and public values. Think of transparency, security and privacy and fighting discrimination. This is protected, for example, by a registry that lists all algorithms, and these are verifiable.
The 2nd principle implies that municipal services meet the needs of residents and businesses. It must be easily accessible, safe and reliable. Think of applying for a permit, passport or benefit or making a report about public space. Personal data must always be safe.
Municipalities also want to use digitization for social issues, such as livelihood security, housing and climate and energy. With the right data at the right time, great strides can be made.
State Secretary for Digitalization and Kingdom Relations Zsolt Szabó accepted the first copy of the Digital Agenda 2028 during a mini-symposium at the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG). With the agenda, municipalities aim to build a digital future that works for everyone, together with residents, businesses, civil society organizations and fellow governments.
View the agenda on the VNG website..
