The text on this page was automatically translated and hence may differ from the original. No rights can be derived from this translation.
Dialogic recently conducted an exploratory study on behalf of the Province of North Brabant into the feasibility of an online module providing personalised information for companies (codenamed: MijnBrabant). The underlying idea is that companies can use MijnBrabant to access status information about all applications they have pending with the province. From a policy perspective, this seems logical since none of the existing national facilities, such as Antwoordvoorbedrijven and the Online Omgevingsloket, are technically capable of providing status information. In fact, both applications are essentially glorified indexes. Therefore, MijnBrabant would fill this gap. However, our field research among companies and industry associations revealed a clear picture: there is little to no demand for a system to retrieve online status information. Firstly, the number of companies that regularly interact with the Province is very limited, consisting solely of 'heavy' environmental companies, which number no more than a few hundred for the entire North Brabant area. These companies predominantly handle matters through their account manager at the Province. Generally, companies are highly satisfied with the current situation, which involves the use of human agents. They find limited added value in an online environment where they can retrieve their own information. Note that the original design of Antwoordvoorbedrijven also involved the use of human agents (namely the nationwide network of Syntens and Chamber of Commerce employees), but this ultimately evolved into an online index. It appears, therefore, that the relatively high costs of setting up an online status information system do not justify the minimal benefits. The Province would be better off focusing its attention on improving the dissemination of policy information and enhancing internal information management.
For more information about this project, please contact: Robbin te Velde (tevelde@dialogic.nl)
