Recently, the Innovation and Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Governance Committee for Healthcare published the report “Participation and Co-Determination in Healthcare: Towards Innovative Forms of (Co-)Decision-Making?'' The report makes clear that within the healthcare sector there is a need for more flexible, tailor-made, and integrated approaches to organizing participation and co-determination. Based on this report, Renate Vink-Dijkstra, together with Mirella Minkman, Michiel van Berckel Smit, and Daniel Waarsenburg, authored an article for the journal Goed Bestuur en Toezicht (Good Governance and Supervision). The central question addressed is how to ensure that participation is not merely a statutory obligation, but also a source of improved decision-making and genuine engagement.
The IAC report shows that traditional co-determination structures—such as client councils, works councils, and nursing advisory councils—remain valuable but do not always align with the dynamics of healthcare and the societal challenges the sector faces. This makes the research highly relevant: the law offers more flexibility than is often assumed! The WMCZ, the WOR, and the Wkkgz provide frameworks, but also leave room to shape participation and co-determination in one’s own way. It is therefore not necessary to remain bound to classical meeting structures; there is space for customization, which often promotes effective dialogue and stronger connections with clients, employees, professionals, and citizens.
Innovative initiatives are already emerging: from digital panels and reflective discussions to shared governance models in which healthcare professionals assume responsibility themselves.
The core message is as simple as it is challenging: dare to experiment! Use digital tools, organize engagement where care is delivered, connect different councils with one another, and look beyond the boundaries of your own organization. Good governance does not start with ticking off statutory requirements, but with realizing their underlying purpose: genuine dialogue with stakeholders.
We invite you to read the IAC article and report both as sources of inspiration and as a mirror. Ask yourself: are we, as an organization, making full use of the space available? And how do we ensure that clients, employees, professionals, and citizens are not only formally heard but also engaged in a meaningful dialogue?
Would you like to ask questions or exchange ideas? Please contact Renate Vink-Dijkstra or Eveline Bakker.
Read the IAC article in Goed Bestuur & Toezicht for concrete examples, dilemmas, and recommendations. It offers valuable insights to make co-determination in your organization both future-proof and meaningful.
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