Netherlands School of Public Administration publishes chronicle about Delta Commissioner
How did we acquire a special functionary in the form of a government commissioner for the delta and what lessons regarding administrative organisation can be learned from that process? These questions are dealt with in “De deltacommissaris. Een kroniek van de instelling van een regeringscommissaris voor de Nederlandse delta” (The Delta Commissioner: A Chronicle of the Establishment of a Government Commissioner for the Dutch Delta).
Apart from providing an historical overview of government commissioners, the chronicle also looks at what is unique about a government commissioner for the delta: "The establishment of a government commissioner for the Dutch delta and the taking up of the position by the so-called Delta Commissioner as of 1 February 2010 was special. Not only can you count on one hand the number of government commissioners that have been charged with policy-based tasks since the Second World War, but what is particularly special is that the establishment of a government commissioner for issues involving the delta has political significance. It means the political recognition of a theme, and a free role removed from ministerial responsibility and political intervention with its own budget that is anchored in the law. Something else special is that this position was established in a context of political uncertainty with a cabinet that had actually fallen. Although the underlying Delta Act – in which the establishment of a government commissioner is anchored for the first time – was subsequently declared controversial, it was still unanimously approved after the elections. This shows that the position of Delta Commissioner was something everyone wanted or at least something that no one opposed. The question that arises – and which forms the basis of this chronicle – is how did we acquire a special functionary in the form of a government commissioner for the delta and what lessons regarding administrative organisation can be learned from that process.”
The chronicle was realised thanks to Prof. Mark van Twist, Martin Schulz PhD, Martijn van der Steen PhD and Jony Ferket MSc, who are all affiliated to the Netherlands School of Public Administration. The Knowledge, Innovation and Strategy Directorate of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment commissioned the work, under the direction of Hans Leeflang.