The Digital Expertise Architecture

Clarifying roles and control loops for effective digital governance

Current structures — a Ministry of Digital Affairs, a Delta Commissioner, and even the Nederlandse
Digitaliseringsstrategie (NDS) — all lack the same foundation:
clearly defined roles and functioning feedback mechanisms.

When issues persist for years, the architecture is wrong.
And between experts, semantic precision is essential for informed discussion and sound decision-making.

Control loops: Signals flow upward (operational → tactical → standards → strategic) while mandates and direction flow downward.

Five levels — operational, tactical, standards, strategic, and decision — each with a distinct mandate:

• Operational (Interior) → NL Digital Knowledge Exchange - digitalekenniswisseling.nl
  (Practical guidance, shared learning & reusable patterns)
• Tactical (Interior) → NL Digital Expertise Body - orgaandigitaleexpertise.nl
  (Technical expertise, architecture review, risk analysis & cross-domain coordination)
• Standards (General Affairs) → NL Standardisation Forum - forumstandaardisatie.nl
  (Normative standards, baseline interoperability & compliance frameworks)
• Strategic (General Affairs) → NL Central Digital Affairs - centraledigitalezaken.nl
  (Guides digital direction, ensures coherence & prepares strategic decisions)
• Cabinet (Executive Decision Level)
  (Binding decisions on standards, regulation & digital policy)
• Parallel Body (Public–Private) → ECP - NL Platform for the Information Society - ecp.nl
  (Structured dialogue without steering roles; channels innovation signals, ensures societal inclusion & links academia)

Governance impact

This structure ensures that:

• Innovation signals are captured early and integrated systematically.
• Market and societal perspectives feed into tactical and strategic processes.
• Risks of institutional capture are reduced.
• Knowledge and training evolve continuously, with ECP connecting universities and modern practice.
• Managers receive clear, actionable detail and can demand accountability at the right level.
• Specialist time is used efficiently through clearer mandates and fewer escalations.

About Digital Control

Digital control starts with clarity.
When managers know which level holds responsibility — operational, tactical, standards or strategic — they can act without relying on scarce specialists. This frees experts to focus on complex work while giving leaders the insight to ask the right questions and demand the right outcomes.

A well-structured governance architecture reduces noise, accelerates delivery and strengthens accountability across government and its suppliers.

Visit janwillemstegink.nl to learn more.