The Plint—a bare-bones space just around the corner from the ministry—was the stage for this first in a series of three talk shows. A fitting venue where everything has to be sorted out yourself: no tables, no chairs, and no catering. Olof Schuring, innovation advisor at Directie X/Makerscollectief and one of the guests, said: “This really is a place for groups to come together. That’s something we value at JenV.”
Makerscollectief
Olof, along with Annemiek Nelis, Director of Directie X (Innovation, Knowledge & Strategy), was the first guest at the table. Both spoke about their efforts to make the entire security chain more future-proof – from JenV itself to organisations such as the probation service, the police, the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Annemiek explained, “It’s about long-term thinking, tackling strategic issues, innovating – and then moving from innovation to implementation.”
Olof added: “We want to use design to reshape the system within JenV. That’s a real tough cookie, because the system pushes back. We’ve seen people struggle with that. That’s why we’ve joined forces and created space for each other through the ‘Makerscollectief’ – a collective where there’s even a shoulder to cry on when needed.”
Solutions vs. imagination
“JenV is a politically-driven organisation,” Annemiek continued. “We’re used to jumping quickly to solutions. Politics often presents solutions too. But what designers do is go back to the root of it all: what’s really the question here?”
As a bureaucratic organisation, the structure itself often gets in the way of doing things differently. “We have lots of different bodies within JenV, and we’re very good at meetings. We always use words. We have directors who meet and form advisory groups to advise them… That structure has its benefits, but it lacks creativity. There’s no imagination in it.”
She gave the example of a Board meeting: “Last year we developed an agenda for change. But simply asking what the future should look like didn’t get us anywhere.” Drawing on a session with the Makerscollectief, she encouraged directors to think differently. They brainstormed around two fictional scenarios: one where departments had only 10% of their staff left, and another where departments had to do everything for citizens.
“Within ten minutes, the ideas started flowing. People were energised and using their imagination. When we returned to the real issue, everything that had come up in those fictional scenarios ended up feeding into the actual agenda.”
Building slowly
Nina Timmers, Lead Designer at DJI, has worked in the security chain for about three years. Tabo asked her what that journey’s been like. “It’s been a rollercoaster – it’s not a straight line from A to B.” Three years ago, the focus was mainly on technological innovation. Now, Nina is steering change through social innovation. “It’s about shifting perspective. From there, we’ve slowly built up a new way of approaching innovation. For instance, by mapping out the ‘patient journey’ – how does a forensic psychiatric patient enter the system, and why is that so traumatic?”
Her message: “Make it tangible. Go out and see together if it actually works.” She and designer Lotte de Haan co-created a set of suitcases with young people in custody – helping them use their time more meaningfully. “It was a very iterative process. We started with a Photoshopped version, then made it more concrete step by step. And we tested it together in practice to see if it really worked.”
"There’s a lot of strength and movement within DJI. But you need to know how to tap into it.”
Not just trying things out
When asked what stands in the way of a design-led approach at DJI, Nina noted: “It’s naturally a very risk-averse organisation. It’s about taking immediate action when incidents occur and preventing them from happening again. Safety and control are key. In such an environment, you can’t just ‘try something out’.”
She developed a method she calls ‘freezing and letting go’—creating clarity around the process. “We start by saying, ‘This is version one. We’re going to test it in this way, for six weeks. You’ll be part of it.’ Everyone understands that – and they get behind it. There’s a lot of strength and movement within DJI. But you need to know how to tap into it.”
The Einstein Brigade
The IND is also a place where daily demands dominate. “We’re always in action mode, and we love just getting stuck in,” said Dick van Soest, Tactical Manager at IND. He and Joey Koops, Operational Manager at IND, joined Tabo at the table. What defines the average IND employee? Joey: “Service. Service to society and to ourselves as IND. We want to be part of solving problems.”
The European Migration Pact means a complete redesign of the asylum system by 2026. On top of that, IND aims to boost productivity by 25% by 2028 through smarter, more efficient work. How do they approach such major changes?
A few years ago, IND launched the Einstein Brigade, a group that gathers improvement ideas from staff on the ground. “We have five innovation managers who drive innovation,” Dick explained, “supported by around 200 staff across the organisation.” They test the most promising ideas – some fail, some succeed. Like software robots that help staff navigate computer tasks automatically, or the drastic shortening of a 78-page application form to just six pages. Each year, around 50 promising ideas are collected. “We now host an annual Einstein Day,” Dick said. “It started with 30 to 40 people, and now it’s in the hundreds.”
Vuurmakers (Firestarters)
Tabo to Joey: “You said beforehand, ‘I don’t have time to sharpen my axe – I’ve got too many trees to chop down.’ How do you make time to think more fundamentally about work processes?”
“That’s tough – especially because of that drive to serve. You fix the problem first and only later ask why you did it that way in the first place. We’ve set up a staff network for young IND employees to come together and learn from each other. A bit like the Makerscollectief, we’ve got our Vuurmakers – Firestarters – with ‘campfire sessions’ where we literally sit around a fire and reflect on why we do what we do. And what that does to us.”
The people really at the centre
The final guests were Roos Marie Pot, Senior Programme Manager at IND, and Lilia Hendrikse, Senior Policy Officer for Asylum & Migration – both part of the JenV High Potential Programme. As part of the programme, participants work on a design assignment in their first year.
Roos Marie’s project focused on the transition from one ministry to two. When a new cabinet came in, a new Ministry of Asylum and Migration (AenM) was formed from parts of JenV. “It was a bureaucratic formality – but it had a real impact on the people involved. What’s it like for Lilia, for instance, suddenly working for AenM instead of JenV? Or for IND, suddenly answering to a different ministry?”
There was no set outcome to the project. “That was new to me – as a programme manager I’m used to delivering results. I had to learn to think outside the box. Olof often reminded me not to focus on the finish line, but to experience the journey. And I kind of fell in love with that journey.”
To explore how staff were experiencing the transition, Roos Marie, along with the minister’s spokesperson and advisor, created beer mats for the Christmas and New Year receptions. One side was red-orange with white letters reading ‘The Person – at the Centre’. On the green flip side, guests were invited to share their thoughts. The feedback was rich and formed the basis for recommendations on how to truly centre people during transitions like this.
Met elkaar in gesprek
Lilia explored the world of intercountry adoption. In April last year, the House of Representatives passed a motion to phase it out over six years. Her task was to create a communications plan around this. “But we decided to do something different.”
“It’s an incredibly emotional subject,” said Lilia. “Discussions can get polarised very quickly. Sometimes it all falls apart and people don’t want to talk anymore.” So Lilia and her team came up with a way to have meaningful conversations with all stakeholders – not just the loudest voices, but also the more moderate ones. The goal was to be open and curious towards one another.
At the talk show, an instruction lay on each participant’s chair: Without knowing the other person, tick words in 30 seconds that you think describe them. Then discuss your choices. A simple exercise – but it created real connection.
"The design-led approach really is a shift in mindset. The best part is seeing people come to believe in this way of working themselves.”
A shift in mindset
What excited Lilia most? “The constant asking—digging deeper and deeper. Is the problem we’ve framed really the problem? Is there another layer to it? The design-led approach really is a shift in mindset. The best part is seeing people come to believe in this way of working themselves.”
The next talk show in the series is scheduled for June 2025.