The exchange of data and responsible data use are tasks for all governments. In the Dutch Data Strategy, data exchange is reintroduced in the form of a Federated Data System (FDS). This is a data ecosystem of the government to enable the safe, transparent, and responsible sharing of data between organizations. Protection of the privacy of individuals and companies is essential. CBS also plays an important role in this. Additionally, CBS is increasingly being asked to deploy its knowledge and expertise to advise governments in this area. We look back with a number of CBS colleagues on what has happened in this area over the past year.
To stimulate data-driven work and data sharing within their own organization and to seek alignment with other organizations, almost every government organization has a Chief Data Officer. This also applies to CBS. This position has been filled for over two years by Ruben Dood. Within the government, there is more attention for data. There is a development to more frequently gain insights based on data, to form policy or to monitor. What it comes down to in practice is that organizations need each others data. Therefore, we must collaborate. We want data sharing to become more efficient, that data aligns better with each other, for example by using the same definitions. We see clear developments in this direction, for example through the regulations regarding evaluation and monitoring of policy.

Data Minimization and Privacy Protection

The Chief Data Officer of CBS participates in several consultation circuits of the government and coordinates matters with colleagues from other government organizations. Privacy protection and data minimization are important principles in this. Ruben Dood: To optimally use government data, it is necessary that data are of sufficient quality for the purpose for which they are used. To share data, they must also be standardized so that it is not difficult to use them after exchange. Metadata must be in order. Additionally, we must agree on how the data will be shared. There are many initiatives for this. One of them is the development of the Federated Data System, with agreements and good practice examples for sharing data within the government.

Data Strategy

Erwin van Mierlo is a senior policy officer at CBS and supports the Chief Data Officer. At the moment, we at CBS are working on the implementation of the data strategy. This focuses on improving access to data and utilizing it to meet societal needs for reliable information. We want to increase the availability of data from government registrations and stimulate data use through collaboration. The data strategy means a strong role for data management at CBS itself. A roadmap has been created for the implementation of the data strategy, which will soon be approved by the management board. Van Mierlo is also involved in the policy regarding synthetic data. These are artificially generated datasets that mimic statistical characteristics and patterns without revealing sensitive or personal information. We will soon review our policy regarding synthetic data. We will also brainstorm with UWV, Cadastre, Chamber of Commerce, DUO, and De Nederlandsche Bank about policy regarding synthetic data. Together with a start-up from Delft University we are developing test data for research in this area.

Dutch Digitalization Strategy

Another important project that CBS is involved in is the Dutch Digitalization Strategy. This is a guideline for government policy in the field of digitalization. Multiple ministries and other government organizations are involved in this subject. Van Mierlo. Our country faces significant societal challenges. Digitalization is one of the key solutions to address these. Therefore, investing in our digital foundation is urgent and important. Data play a crucial role in this. On behalf of CBS, we are present at the discussions to contribute with our knowledge and experience in sharing and responsibly using data.

Data for Policy

At CBS, Niels Bom is the account manager for the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance. He helps these organizations with the data needed for policy. Everything that CBS publishes in statistics is online. Most government organizations know how to find the way to Statline. But in some cases, there is a need for additional information, for clarification on the figures, for example about the energy transition or housing. I then ensure that they get in touch with the CBS staff who have these topics in their portfolio. Sometimes we provide additional statistics that help ministries in making, monitoring, and evaluating their policy. In this way, our figures remain relevant to the questions that arise and can contribute to well-considered policy on societal issues.