The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) is enhancing access to government services in Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eustatius through the Caribbean Netherlands Public Services Programme. A key focus is the 1-stop government experience, where improved collaboration among service providers allows citizens and entrepreneurs to perceive the government as a single entity, making it easier to navigate public services.
“Improving public service delivery is a fundamental responsibility of government,” says Allison Pruschen, Research Project Manager at the Department of Public Services. “The government exists to serve citizens and entrepreneurs. If service delivery falls short, people cannot fully enjoy their rights. This touches on the basic principles of our democracy.” Juliska van Rossum, project leader at Caribbean Netherlands Project Office, adds: “On the islands, one in three people live in poverty. Despite numerous schemes and subsidies available, the application processes tend to be complex and disjointed, making them hard to navigate. Moreover, much information is in Dutch, which is not the native language for most residents. This constitutes a huge barrier.”
Better government services and digitalisation
The Caribbean Netherlands Public Services programme began as an initiative to enhance digital services. “It quickly grew into a more wide-ranging approach to improve government services to citizens and entrepreneurs across all channels. Using their perspective as a starting point,” Pruschen explains. “We work in phases: from identifying needs and supply to prioritising. Now, we are in the implementation phase.”
In terms of digitalisation, steps have been taken. These include a bill for a Citizen Service number (BSN, in Dutch), affiliation of Bonaire with the Information Services of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG), and revamped websites on Saba and St. Eustatius. The focus is now on enhanced collaboration through the 1-stop government idea, including customer journeys that highlight bottlenecks. In doing so, attention is given to the local context and challenges such as limited implementation capacity, cooperation between the central government and Public Entities, and financing.
Focus on citizens and entrepreneurs
Digitalisation is crucial for effective service delivery across government. “We recognised that while digitalisation activities in the islands were very much happening, little thought had been given to support in the journey towards it,” says Pruschen. They soon found that more was needed; it involved a fundamentally different approach to service delivery. Van Rossum: “Before, we mostly looked at how the service was offered. Now, the focus is on what a citizen or entrepreneur needs.”
Cooperation between governments
For the Caribbean Netherlands to function effectively as a single government entity, enhanced cooperation is essential. Ton Deurloo, Project Leader at Caribbean Netherlands Public Services, identifies insufficient capacity and high employee turnover as key obstacles to collaboration. “Despite the islands’ small size, cooperation is challenging due to work pressure”. The programme also aims to address this issue. “We organise sessions to gather input. With this feedback, we can create advice that streamlines and accelerates the implementation process. To enhance, expand, or preserve knowledge, we connect individuals to knowledge institutions like User Needs First and the Government-wide Research Community,” Pruschen explains.
Van Rossum highlights that this strategy is already yielding tangible collaborations: “For instance, the steering committee focused on service delivery within the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands (RCN). The project team, comprising project leaders from The Hague and the islands, ensures that improvements are implemented and sustained over time. The network is expanding, with over 150 local individuals across the three islands having engaged in various sessions about customer journeys, service concepts, Service Week, and inventory interviews. Public service delivery is increasingly becoming a focal point”.
Customer journey methodology
To pinpoint and resolve bottlenecks both within and between organisations, the customer journey methodology is used. Deurloo, an expert in customer journey development, says: “A customer journey is typically mapped with a group of 4 to 15 stakeholders, depending on the subject. In February and March 2025, we facilitated customer journeys in Bonaire focused on Financial Hardship and Entrepreneurship. We collaborated with organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Akseso, Qredits, the Tax Authority, the Public Entity of Bonaire, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). This effort culminated in a widely endorsed and detailed understanding of how and where improvements can be made. Customer journeys provide valuable insights into areas of success and those that need improvement. Additionally, we offer training to ensure the methodology can be sustained on the islands. The next key step is to actively address the identified bottlenecks.
Engaging citizens and entrepreneurs
In the programme, the team works closely together with professionals from local governments and state organisations who can share insights based on their experiences with citizens. Additionally, the team is creating a regional network of citizens and entrepreneurs. “By engaging with citizens and entrepreneurs, we gain valuable insights, including the fact that some services are not easily accessible,” Van Rossum says.
The Caribbean Netherlands, part of the Netherlands
Since the constitutional change in 2010, the Netherlands has been responsible for the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba. However, legislation was often only enforced when absolutely necessary, leading to significant backlogs. Since 2019, the ‘Comply or Explain’ policy (Dutch) has been in effect: new policies generally apply to the Caribbean Netherlands unless there is a valid reason to make an exception. Pruschen emphasises the need for greater awareness within the central government: “Many people do not realise that the Caribbean Netherlands is part of the Netherlands and exactly which islands this concerns. Raising awareness about this is an important task for everyone involved in the central government.”
