Common use of Transparency and Accountability Clause in Contracts

Transparency and Accountability. The universities of applied sciences, universities, the student organisations, and the government all endorse the importance of greater transparency of development in higher education. To that end, the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, the VSNU, and the minister will jointly initiate the development of a permanent national overview for universities of applied sciences and research universities of core data for education, research, and impact (in the form of a digital sector dashboard, for example). With a view to public accountability and to enable local participation bodies and the institutes to see where they stand, developments at individual institutes will also be made transparent. The reports will give a broad-based picture of developments in higher education. For the content of the overview, the parties will use existing quantitative and qualitative systemic and institutional level information. In doing so, they will observe the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation. The first overviews will be drawn up in early 2019. The aim of the research universities and the minister is to use and combine existing information about the system and institutes as effectively as possible, while the quality of information improves and the burden on institutes to provide information is reduced. The replication of tasks by various bodies, such as the VSNU, the Netherlands Association of Applied Sciences, the Inspectorate of Education, NVAO, the Committee for Efficiency in Higher Education (CDHO), and DUO, will be prevented, where possible, by harmonising the surveys and the databases used for them. Together with relevant parties, the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science will explore what data may be shared with the parties, for what purpose, and by what method. The aim is to continue the current method as much as possible, but alternatives will be considered as part of the analysis. Alterations to legislation may form part of the solution in order that the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation are met.