The formation process has concluded, and the future of the Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy (NDS) is now set. The programme will continue under the same name, with prioritisation guiding its future direction.
In February, doubts persisted about the NDS’s future under the new cabinet. However, the Ministers for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) and for the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) agreed to proceed with the NDS and keep its name.
The Minister for Digital Economy and Sovereignty (EZK) will oversee 5 of the NDS’s 6 priorities. Priority 4, Citizens and entrepreneurs first, will remain under the Minister for BZK’s responsibility.
No extra funding
The cabinet has not allocated extra resources. As a result, the NDS will move forward using current budgets and the support from participating organisations. Efforts to find additional funding and create synergies will continue, including merging activities, engaging internal service providers more actively, and exploring opportunities to collaborate with the Ministry of Defence.
Accelerators
By the end of December 2025, all NDS acceleration teams submitted brief plans. Some ‘accelerators’ have started implementing them since December, while others are still finalising their action plans. Over the past few months, these descriptions, called 2-pagers, have been coordinated and refined with different government bodies.
Setting priorities
Because additional funding is needed to achieve the desired acceleration and impact everywhere, it is crucial to set priorities within the plans: what is most important, urgent, and achievable with existing resources. All participating governments have coordinated these priorities with their stakeholders. They must decide which plans to pursue, where to focus more narrowly, and which plans to discontinue or not initiate.
Achieving results together
During an NDS event on 31 March, the acceleration teams shared their prioritisation proposals and related roadmaps with each other and with representatives of the involved governments. The proposals clearly illustrated how priorities and interventions are interconnected and what conditions are necessary for mutual success.
NDS Programme Director Erik Jan Boon said the day was marked by enthusiasm, energy, and a shared commitment to move forward together with the NDS. In a plenary session, participants expressed their collective ambition to achieve results. Boon summed up the day by saying: “We all realise that with the NDS, we have also initiated a movement towards 1 government and towards more collaboration and less non-commitment and fragmentation.”
Foundation for further development
On 1 April 2026, the Programme Management Consultation approved the 2-Pagers as the foundation for further development. The proposed priorities were also confirmed. In the upcoming months, these will be discussed at the political-administrative level.
