4 municipalities and the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) are making tangible progress towards greater digital independence in the public sector. They are conducting a pilot project to test a Linux-based workplace and the collaborative platform MijnBureau under real-world conditions. This effort is part of the Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy (NDS) and is carried out by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) and SSC-ICT.
The municipalities of ’s-Hertogenbosch, Zaanstad, Ede, and Amsterdam will carry out small-scale experiments using a Linux-based laptop alongside MijnBureau. This configuration operates a digitally autonomous government work environment, known in Dutch as the Digitaal Autonome Werkomgeving Overheid (DAWO), developed by SSC-ICT.
Simultaneously, BZK is developing MijnBureau, an open-source collaborative environment that integrates components from the French La Suite, the German OpenDesk, and Nextcloud. Together, these solutions mark a step towards a future-proof, European-developed digital work environment.
Practical experience accelerates further development
Over the next few months, the four municipalities will test an early version of the autonomous digital work environment. This pilot, which runs until the end of 2026, aims to collect user feedback, identify areas for improvement, and enhance integration with existing systems.
Additionally, the pilot aims to identify which groups of municipal employees can first use MijnBureau in a production environment. The insights and experiences gained will inform the further development of both DAWO and MijnBureau into stable, widely deployable solutions.
