17 May 2022

12:00 pm - 01:00 pm CET

Join our Tech Talk on 17 May between 12 pm and 1 pm with special guests: Christine Bel, Department manager Engineering Systems and Services at the TU Delft; and Cokky Hilhorst, Professor of Business & IT at Nyenrode Business University and teacher RightBrains Digital Leadership programme. With the Tech Talks we aim to promote learning, inspire discussions and boost your digital career.

Digital technology, government and politics: Can they keep up with each other?

In the ideal world, the government, politics and digital technology are a perfect match. The government is accountable and transparent. And in return this shows the rationale to citizens behind political decisions and policy making. The digital interaction with the citizens is impeccable and the digital process is taken care from end to end, for instance in taxation.

In real life, we know the headlines. Allowances affair (toeslagen affaire), digital projects way over budget, politicians that want all and want it now (sleepnet wet=dragnet law) and do not know enough technical details to make decisions on digital technology. Digitisation is difficult, because behind data there are people, and people can be difficult, irrational and more. Computer outputs, however, are easy to manage, understand and navigate, aren’t they?

Digital technology, government, and politics… What is needed to make it work? To have public values respected? What are the effects of policy on implementation? How can we make sure that what we learn in implementation, finds its way back to politics? And more important, that politics act on it? Can they keep up with each other?

How to join?

Our events are accessible for free to all RightBrainers. Create an account on the RightBrains Career & Mentor platform and follow the onboarding instructions. You can register on your dashboard for upcoming events.

Cokky Hilhorst is Professor of Business & IT at Nyenrode Business University as well as member of several advisory boards. She has a background in Information Management and Artificial Intelligence. Cokky was responsible for setting up and leading the public sector 'IT watchdog' for the House of Representatives, an independent advisory board.

Christine Bel is Department manager Engineering Systems and Services at the TU Delft, and already more than 10 years active in politics. She has a background in artificial intelligence as well as in Psychology. Christine led several projects related to digital technology in the public sector.