Zaaksgericht

Zaaksgericht is a term used to describe a way of organizing public administration and service delivery around individual cases, or "zaken," rather than around departments or isolated tasks. A zaak represents a specific subject or request from a citizen or business, with a defined start and end, a dedicated file, and an auditable history. The aim is to deliver end-to-end service for each zaak, often supported by digital case management systems that track progress, assign tasks to multiple actors, and enable transparent communication with the requester.

In practice, zaaksgericht werken involves managing the full lifecycle of a zaak: intake, assessment, processing, decision, and closure. Each zaak has a unique identifier, defined handling times, involved stakeholders, and service level agreements. Citizens can typically follow the progress of their zaak, while staff from different departments collaborate within a shared case file to reduce duplications and rework. Data from related zaken can be linked to support better decision-making and continuity of service.

Benefits of a zaaksgerichte approach include increased transparency, shorter turnaround times, improved cross-department coordination, more consistent regulatory compliance, and enhanced performance measurement. It also supports citizen-centric service delivery by making processes more predictable and easier to track.

Challenges may include managing organizational change, ensuring data privacy and quality, achieving interoperability between disparate information systems, and establishing consistent governance and standardized workflows. The concept is widely adopted in the public sector, especially within municipalities and government agencies handling permits, social services, housing, taxes, and other routine public services. In the Netherlands, zaaksgericht werken is part of broader digital government initiatives to improve efficiency and citizen impact.