The Advisory Board Open government and Information Management (ACOI) is established in 2022 as an independent advisory body to the Dutch government, with the aim of promoting the implementation of the Open Government Act (Wet open overheid, Woo). The tasks and responsibilities of the Advisory Board are prescribed by the Open Government Act (Woo) itself.
Our mission
The ACOI is committed to a democracy in which every citizen is able to actively participate in as well as monitor the actions taken by the government. This means that everyone must have as much access to governmental information as possible. The mission of the board is to be a driving force behind this openness.
Our core tasks
Advice
ACOI advises the Dutch government and parliament on policy and legislation regarding the openness and proper management of government information. This advice is relevant for the Dutch central government, municipalities, provinces and Wate Authorities. ACOI conducts independent research itself or commissions research in preparation for its advice and working methods.
Mediation
ACOI has an 'ombudsman' function specifically for journalists, researchers and social organisations that have a ‘professional interest’ in the disclosure of government information. In case any of these parties has a complaint regarding the handling of their Woo request, ACOI can act as a mediator between the specific party and the relevant government organization that was tasked with handling their Woo request.
Knowledge sharing
ACOI also promotes the knowledge that is needed to realise the transition to an open administrative culture. Knowledge sharing takes place in various forms, such as meetings, learning circles and targeted training courses. Moreover, ACOI draws up working methods ('guidelines') that help government organisations to correctly implement the Woo. The main target groups herein are public officials who implement the Woo, journalists, researchers and other citizens that are potential users of the Woo.
Our working method
In carrying out its tasks, the ACOI works independently, expertly and in open connection with society. Hence, the board seeks information from all parties involved: administrators and civil servants, journalists and scientists, social organisations, companies and citizens.
Our field of work
Publicity and information management
The most important subject for the Advisory Board is the implementation of the Open Government Act (Wet Open Overheid, Woo), more specifically the way in which government bodies disclose information to the public. What documents and data does the government publish actively online and does this disclosure of information meet the needs of various groups in society? How does the government handle requests for the disclosure of documents? What is going well and what could be improved? The ACOI deals with these types of questions. And this not only concerns current information from, for example, ministries and municipalities, but also older information from the archive services in our country.
The second subject for the ACOI is the information management of the government. It is important to store documents and data properly and also to clean them up regularly. So that administrators and civil servants can do their work properly and answer questions from society. Moreover, the better the information management, the easier it is to make information (actively or on request) public for everyone.
Relevant legislation
Of course, the ACOI takes relevant legislation into account. The Open Government Act and the Archives Act are the two most important laws in the field of work. In addition, the board pays attention to European privacy legislation (the General Data Protection Regulation), the Government Information Re-use Act, the Digital Government Act, and the General Administrative Law Act.
Links
Contact
Send an email to info@acoi.nl or complete the contact form and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible.
We can be reached by phone at +31 (0)70-4266643 between 9:00 and 17:00 Monday to Thursday.
Do you have general questions about the Open Government Act? You can phone 1400 if you have questions about your application for information.