The NDS Council operates as an independent advisory group that assists in and accelerates the execution of the Netherlands Digitalisation Strategy (NDS). Made up of specialists from government, academia, and industry, the Council offers both requested and unsolicited guidance to the State Secretary for Digitalisation and the Digitalisation Governance Forum regarding the progress and implementation of the NDS. Furthermore, the Council promotes digital innovation and encourages collaboration across various sectors.
Composition of the NDS Council
The NDS Council comprises 14 members and a chair, each with expertise in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, data exchange, cloud technology, and the enhancement of digital public services. Members representing government organisations also act as chairs of acceleration teams within the NDS implementation programme.
Members of the NDS Council:
- Drs. Nathan Ducastel, Managing Director at VNG-Realisatie; Chair of the NDS Council
- Dr Arre Zuurmond, Former Government Commissioner for Information Management
- Ir. Bas Dunnebier, Chief Science and Technology Officer, AIVD
- Emily Glastra, Chair, NLdigital (Dutch Digital Technology Association)
- Drs. Inge Bryan, Independent Security Advisor
- Prof. Dr Ir. Nitesh Bharosa, Professor of GovTech and Innovation, TU Delft
- Prof. Dr Paul Timmers, Professor, KU Leuven; University of Rijeka; European University Cyprus
- Dr Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi, CEO and Chair of the Executive Board, TNO
- Drs. Emine Özyenici MCM, Deputy Secretary-General, Ministry of Justice and Security (JenV)
- Hans Ouwehand, Chair of the Executive Board, CAK; Chair, Citizen and Business-Centric Acceleration Team
- Drs. Jan Gudde, Acting Director-General of Operations, JenV; Chair, Digital Resilience and Autonomy Acceleration Team
- Drs. Ron Kolkman, Chief Engineer-Director and CIO, Rijkswaterstaat; Chair, Cloud Acceleration Team
- Tanja van Burgel, CIO, Ministry of Finance; Chair, Digital Expertise Acceleration Team
- Larissa Zegveld, Director-General, Kennisnet Foundation; Chair, Standardisation Forum; Priority Lead, Artificial Intelligence
- Chair, Intergovernmental Data Consultation, to be appointed; Chair, Data Acceleration Team
Agenda
The NDS Council meets 5 times a year. After each meeting, the Council publishes an advisory letter. Transparency is a core principle of its work.
Meeting dates:
- 1 October 2025
- 8 December 2025
- 4 February 2026
- 27 May 2026
- 8 July 2026
- 16 September 2026
- 9 December 2026
Documents
1st Advisory letter from the NDS Council (Dutch).
In the media
- Rijksoverheid.nl, nieuwsbericht lancering NDS-raad, September 2025 (Press release “Launch of NDS Council” on Rijksoverheid.nl, in Dutch)
- NL Digital Government, featured story NDS prioritises responsible data use, September 2025
- iBestuur, blog Nathan Ducastel, October 2025 (Dutch)
- Special Publiek Denken, interview Nathan Ducastel on the importance of the NDS, November 2025 (Dutch)
