Involving professionals and citizens in shaping new policies

Enforcement policies affect people — but are rarely made with them. Yet that is exactly what the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment did: not just think about the people who carry out and undergo enforcement, but start talking to them. After all, who knows better how policy works in practice than the professional who applies it every day, or the citizen who has to deal with it directly?

The challenge

Making a good enforcement course is about a difficult balance: offering customization without falling into arbitrariness, and treating errors differently than deliberate fraud. But how do professionals and citizens experience this new approach? And more importantly: how do you involve two completely different groups with different interests in one policy issue?

Our approach

Synthetron and SZW organized two separate online dialogues: one with enforcement professionals from municipalities, the UWV and the Social Insurance Bank, and a separate session with citizens who reflect society. Through one-hour interactive sessions, we collected nuanced insights. Participants responded not only to questions, but especially to each other's ideas. Ideas that received a lot of support automatically became more visible, so it quickly became clear where consensus emerged. The anonymity ensured that both the junior professional and the experienced enforcer were able to contribute equally, without hierarchy or peer pressure. The same was true for citizens: everyone had an equal voice.

The result

In one day, SZW thus collected insights from two completely different worlds. The dialogues not only identified opinions, but showed where concerns lie, what conditions are needed, and how trust can grow. This input now forms the basis for further development of the 2026 Enforcement Course. An important thing about Erect was that 60% of citizens indicated that participating in the session increased their trust in the government. Something we can really use at this time.

‍

Curious? Want to know more?

We are happy to help you engage your stakeholders. Feel free to contact us:

contact@synthetron.com