Within the pages of CIONET Cookbook No. 3, discover a compilation of success recipes shared by 21 of today’s most influential and dynamic information technology leaders across all business sectors. This unique volume presents new recipes for digital success based on CIONET TV interviews with top digital leaders across Europe.
Right now, it’s clear that we all face extraordinary technical and business challenges. This third edition of the Cookbook presents further insights into the best practices required to flourish in a new digital era.
Lourens Visser explains how he’s promoting the effective use of technology and information across government services through a focus on transparency, strategy and data management.
Lourens has a master's degree in electrical engineering from Delft University of Technology and an MBA from Nyenrode Business University. After starting his career as a naval officer, he made a switch to IT and worked for IBM, Accenture and Logica. In 2010, Lourens transferred to the customer side and became CIO at the Port of Rotterdam. After working for a range of other public sector organisations, he became CIO at the Dutch Central Government in 2019.
He was challenged to improve the maturity of IT across government, which includes 12 ministries and 140,000 civil servants. Lourens manages a team of 100 full-time employees. His role has three main elements: to promote the right use of IT services across government, to promulgate policies and frameworks on technology, and to coordinate compliance with these policies across government.
Building trust in government processes
Lourens is leading an Information Transparency Programme in response to a political crisis in the Netherlands and a parliamentary investigation into the childcare benefits process. One of the conclusions of this investigation was that the government is unable to make effective operational and process decisions without access to the right information.
The €800m Information Transparency Programme, led by Lourens and his team, has four key elements: attract and recruit more IT professionals; create transparent communications between people and organisations in government; converge dozens of information management applications; and promote tighter governance across government.
The programme, which includes 900 smaller projects, will take at least six years to roll out. All elements of the cross-government programme are now running and 90% of the budget is allocated. Lourens says the aim is to ensure information is available to the public sooner. Requests for information will be met proactively and results delivered in a standard form. He says the programme will build trust in the government following the political crisis.
Lourens wants to make a difference to the government by creating a mature approach to IT with strong leadership and shared services. By overseeing and working alongside the CIOs of 12 government ministries and six big public sector agencies, he has created an IT strategy that focuses on 10 key themes, including sustainable IT, procurement, security, and skills.
Work on information transparency is being led by one of the members of the CIO board. In terms of skills, there are 3,000 IT vacancies within the central government and the strategy aims to help public bodies recruit the right people. Lourens heads-up two themes: the creation of a sustainable IT landscape, and the development of shared services.
The Netherlands now has its first state secretary for digitisation. Lourens says this recent appointment is fostering political will for technology-led change and helps the country keep pace with other pioneering European governments.
Estimates suggest it could take as much as €10 billion to fix the Netherlands’ legacy IT issues. Lourens says modernisation and the use of cloud-based technology is a critical step towards ensuring a modern enterprise architecture.
He has worked with his team of CIOs to establish a new hybrid cloud infrastructure policy. Lourens says the government has a dispersed and diverse application landscape. An architecture board helps ensure the right cloud suppliers are selected for the right tasks. He bolsters internal knowledge by reaching out to external advisors, such as the CIO of ING.
The government is combining data sources to become more effective and efficient. These efforts are undertaken with care. Lourens says incorrect data produces incorrect information, as seen in the country’s childcare crisis. Algorithms can have hidden biases and the government must consider data privacy laws, such as GDPR.
Lourens has established a chief data officer structure to establish data management policies. This work puts the citizen “front and centre”. Key progress includes the digitisation of letters from tech services. However, it’s unlikely that a centralised data lake will be created because of the diverse nature of government information and a desire to respect citizen privacy.
Filling the skills gap
Lourens acknowledges the government’s 3,000 IT vacancies are tough to fill. High-level technical graduates are in short supply, so the government uses traineeships, recruitment campaigns, and also looks for people with competencies to become IT professionals. The government is running pilots in robotic process automation.
New entrants can expect to make a difference, but change takes time. They must enjoy the diversity in operations and the inherent complexity of government. Lourens’ personal ambition is to let people shine. He empowers staff and expects them to take ownership: “If you see an opportunity, go for it. Ask for forgiveness, not for permission.”
Defining the qualities of a Master Chef
Lourens says he’s viewed as a “connector”. He’s a buffer between his CIOs and the state secretary, which is a heavy responsibility. He communicates regularly with his CIOs. As someone who’s fulfilled the departmental CIO role in the past, he understands their work, which helps build trust. He leads by example and, if his actions are correct, people follow.
The role of government CIO has changed radically during the past decade. The CIOs who report to Lourens have their own departmental systems and teams to manage. Today, there is much deeper awareness of how government IT impacts citizens. He believes the mandate of government CIOs will continue to increase.
Lourens advises next-generation leaders to trust their gut feeling. Absorb as much as possible from any job you do. Changing your role every couple of years helps you to learn fresh skills and build your profile.