In 2026, thousands of civil servants will gain access to a new AI assistant: Vlam-chat. Several government ministries have confirmed their intention to adopt the service, including the Ministries of General Affairs (AZ), the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), Housing and Spatial Planning (VRO), Finance, Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW), Education, Culture and Science (OCW), Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), and Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). Together, they are taking a significant step towards the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence within government.
A secure AI alternative
Vlam-chat is part of the broader Vlam.ai Project by SSC-ICT. The service supports writing, summarising, and translation tasks. What sets Vlam-chat apart is that it will operate locally within a government data centre and use European language models, making it a secure and responsible alternative to commercial AI chatbots.
Broad commitment
Ahead of the 2026 launch, eight ministries have pledged their participation, initially providing a user base of approximately 26,500 civil servants. Their commitment is vital, as SSC-ICT must invest heavily in hosting and further developing vlam-chat. Thanks to this collective support, costs can be shared. The service is being developed with a focus on privacy, security, and digital autonomy.
Accelerating AI adoption in government
Vlam-chat aligns with Priority 3 (Artificial Intelligence) of the Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy (NDS). It specifically aims to accelerate the development of open Dutch and European language models within the government. Additionally, it supports the goal of increasing digital autonomy.
By investing in a reliable AI solution, the government is making successful applications widely accessible. Vlam-chat exemplifies how the government can lead in digital innovation.
More information
For more details about Vlam-chat, please read the interview (Dutch) with Mohammed Al-Haddad (Project Manager Vlam.ai) and Sander Fischer (Strategic AI Advisor). They have been working to make vlam.ai accessible to all SSC-ICT clients. The code can be viewed on GitHub.
