Integrity management in the public sector • The Dutch approach Integrity management in the public sector The Dutch approach Leo Huberts | Alain Hoekstra (red.) BIOS, The Hague 2016 This publication is a production of the Dutch Design Studio Tint, The Hague National Integrity Office (BIOS). Printing Wilco, Amersfoort BIOS is an initiative of, and is subsidized by, the Binding Van Waarden, Zaandam Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. BIOS is part of CAOP, the centre of expertise for isbn 978-90-824816-0-0 labour relations in the public sector. © 2016 the authors and BIOS BIOS All rights reserved. No part of this publication Bureau Integriteitsbevordering Openbare Sector may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system Postbus 556 or transmitted in any form or by any means, 2501 CN Den Haag electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording t 070 376 59 37 or otherwise, without the prior written www.integriteitoverheid.nl permission of the publishers. Content Preface 7 1 Integrity and integrity management in the Netherlands 9 Describing the scene, definitions, strategies and developments Alain Hoekstra, Leo Huberts and Isabel Gaisbauer i the national perspective 2 Integrity in public administration 33 Responsibilities of the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Richard Hagedoorn and Melanie Hermus 3 The Dutch National Integrity Office Supporting public integrity 53 Alain Hoekstra and Marijn Zweegers 4 Reporting malpractices in the Dutch public sector 63 Alex Belling and Ed Fenne 5 Integrity investigations in the Netherlands Quality and credibility 76 John Mathew Groot 6 Criminal investigation 86 First aid for administrative mishaps Erik Hoenderkamp 7 Monitoring integrity 98 The development of an integral integrity monitor for public administration in the Netherlands Terry Lamboo and Jessica de Jong ii the organisational perspective 8 An organisation with integrity: feasible or a question of ideals? 113 On the design of the integrity position within the Hellevoetsluis municipal authority Aafje Stout 9 Integrity 124 Part of day-to-day practice in the City of Amsterdam Jeanine Kooistra 10 Integrity management behind bars 136 Dick van Lingen 11 Integrity incorporated in strategy and daily processes The Netherlands Tax and Customs Administration 146 Hans Visser 12 The Province of Limburg 159 The integrity network works Rick Duiveman iii academic reflections 13 Integrity as a shared responsibility 173 Willeke Slingerland 14 A ‘forerunner’ in public service ethics in Europe A critical evaluation 186 Christoph Demmke 15 Dutch approach to integrity of governance in context 202 Leo Huberts About the authors 215 Preface Although the significance of integrity seems undisputed nowadays, this has not always been the case. Integrity is still a relatively young policy area. It steadily climbed up the political, administrative, and academic agendas since the early 1990s. Integrity policies, strategies, monitors, and evaluations gradually matured and gained more attention of both national and international institutions, such as the EU. The Netherlands was among the front-runners in this regard and can look back on twenty-five years of experience. And just as during our former EU Presidency in 2004, we would like to highlight the importance of this topic again at the European level, especially since upholding integrity is a process which requires continuous attention. Public organisations are in constant change, which also imposes new ethical challenges. This publication focuses on how integrity is managed within the Dutch public sector. It gives an overview of the national policy framework and structures, continues with several examples of integrity approaches within individual public organisations, and concludes with some academic reflections. As such, the book describes the main aspects of the ‘Dutch integrity approach’. Characteristic for this approach is that we are not solely fixated on avoiding criminal acts such as corruption and fraud, but that we also emphasise the ethical aspects of public officials’ behaviour. This requires, besides rules, regulation and investigation, all kinds of training and awareness raising activities. As a third pillar – next to regulation and training –we are searching for methods to institutionalize public integrity. The firm and sustainable embedding of integrity is a challenge, not only for the Netherlands but for all EU member states. integrity management in the public sector • the dutch approach 7 All these different perspectives are discussed in this publication, not only to help us reflect on our own approach, but also to inspire you to reflect on integrity management in your own country. We are very thankful to be able to share our experiences. Hopefully, an international exchange of ideas can develop into new effective methods curbing corruption and fostering integrity. I hope that you will join us in this endeavour to foster integrity as a core element of good governance. The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Dr. Ronald Plasterk 8 preface 1 Integrity and integrity management in the Netherlands Describing the scene, definitions, strategies and developments Alain Hoekstra, coordinating policy officer, Dutch National Integrity Office (BIOS) Leo Huberts, Professor of Public Administration, VU University Amsterdam Isabel Gaisbauer, senior advisor, CAOP (expertise centre for public labour relations) Introduction In today’s world, public organisations pay more attention to ethics and integrity. In the Netherlands, public integrity was placed on the agenda in the early 1990s (Hoekstra & Kaptein, 2014). Dutch efforts in the field of integrity management can therefore be qualified as relatively long lasting. This book provides an overview and analysis of the Dutch integrity management approach. It describes how the Dutch integrity system operates from both a national (part I) and an organisational (part II) perspective. The final section of the book (part III) contains academic reflections. All in all, the book provides insights that might inspire other countries in their own efforts to manage integrity. This book’s target audience includes policy-makers, ethics and integrity entities, anti- corruption agencies, integrity and compliance officers, as well as NGOs, students, and researchers. In this chapter, we start with a brief outline of the Dutch social, political and administrative context, followed by an overview of the main develop- ments in integrity management within the Dutch government during the last 25 years. We then briefly reflect on the main concepts: integrity, integrity violations, and integrity policies. We argue that integrity manage ment can be studied at different levels and from different pers pectives. We conclude with some initial reflections on the Dutch system, and introduce the upcoming book chapters. integrity management in the public sector • the dutch approach 9 About the Netherlands The Netherlands1 is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a small, densely populated country with 16.9 million inhabitants (in 2015), located in Western Europe, with three island territo- ries in the Caribbean2. Amsterdam is the country’s capital while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of government and parliament. Since 1848 it has been governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, or- ganized as a ‘unitary decentralized state’ with central authority in combi- nation with decentralized, in particular, local authorities. The Netherlands is a member of the European Union and the euro zone, has a market-based mixed economy, had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013, and ranked as the fourth happiest country in the world, reflecting a high quality of life. Public administration in the Netherlands has four tiers: central govern- ment, the provinces, the municipalities and the water authorities. In addition, there are many (more or less) independent agencies, including public-private organizations, with responsibilities for addressing and solving social problems. This fits into a governance tradition of coopera- tion and tolerance between minorities, with cooperation between different pillars in society and coalition governments (Andeweg & Irwin, 2014), even though more polarization and fragmentation have become visible in the last fifteen years (Besamusca & Verheul, 2014). The Dutch governmental system executes a number of tasks on behalf of the citizens, with a total of approximately 915,000 civil servants (includ- ing the educational system). The national state employs about 117,000 civil servants, the municipalities 148,000 (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, 2015). The Netherlands has a relatively large and well- functioning central government, as illustrated by the scores on the World Governance Indicators (World Bank) which, according to Transparency International (2012), include a strong reputation for integrity. More than two decades Dutch integrity policies at a glance Although integrity has always been an important issue, it did not attain a permanent position on the Dutch political agenda until the early 1990s. Until then, integrity was just incidentally debated and policies often consisted of unwritten agreements and voluntary measures. An outline of Dutch integrity policies is presented below in three phases. 10 integrity and integrity management in the netherlands Phase 1 Agenda setting and regulation (1990-2003) In the early 1990s, concerns arose in the Netherlands about