The municipality of Nijmegen and Radboud University are jointly developing a training programme: ‘We want to be known as the best provider of training for civil servants’

13 April 2026 News item

For the first time in their respective histories, the municipality of Nijmegen and Radboud University are entering into a long-term, intensive partnership. Thanks to the new curriculum in political and administrative consultancy, around 250 employees of the municipality of Nijmegen will discover over the coming years how they can refine their advisory and information-sharing practices within their complex organisation. Municipal Secretary Astrid van de Klift and Associate Professor of Public Administration Marieke van Genugten discuss the curriculum. ‘We want to be known as the best trainer of civil servants.’

The decision to develop this learning pathway with the Radboud Management Academy (RMa) and the Department of Public Administration has two reasons, explains Astrid van de Klift. The first reason is that the Nijmegen Audit Office published a report on the provision of information to the executive. This revealed that quality improvement is needed. ‘You have to view this in a very broad sense: from archiving policy documents to drafting proposals to be submitted to the municipal council. In the latter case, roles can sometimes become blurred. For instance, a proposal might be described in such detail that councillors end up debating those details, whereas their role is actually to provide broad guidance.’

Marieke van Genugten

Civil service expertise

The second reason is that in recent years a significant proportion of municipal civil servants have retired and many new and young staff members have joined. Van de Klift: ‘We have sufficient new recruits, often people who previously worked in other sectors. That’s very positive, though it also presents challenges. These new staff members have a great deal of expertise in their specialist fields, but less experience in providing advice or information to the council or the mayor and aldermen. This civil service expertise requires attention.’

That attention is now being provided in the form of the new learning pathway. This involves training, development and redesign around a number of themes yet to be determined, explains Marieke van Genugten. Not every civil servant will be equally involved in this; it depends on the theme. ‘First, we provide a small group – those most closely involved with a particular theme – with relevant knowledge. We then link that expertise to what is happening within the municipal organisation. We analyse what needs to change in existing working methods and then create a practice-oriented learning module for broader groups of staff involved in the theme.’ It is also important to embed the changes in the work processes, adds Van der Klift. ‘In the long term, our own experts will deliver the learning module to new staff themselves. That way, we keep our knowledge up to date.’

Astrid van de Klift

Complex organisation

All of this has three objectives: to improve the quality of advice and administrative documents, to strengthen the coherence between policy, finance and implementation, and to ensure a shared standard for advising and decision-making. That is no simple task in a complex organisation such as the local authority. Van der Klift gives concrete examples of issues that are currently not working well. ‘It sometimes happens that the council receives exactly the same proposals as the executive committee, even though they have very different roles. Nor is it yet standard practice to offer different scenarios as solutions to a particular problem. Furthermore, it is important to be transparent and to keep one’s own assumptions out of the proposals; otherwise, you are partly taking on the role of the administrator.’

Van Genugten observes that the interaction between councillors, administrators and civil servants is not running smoothly in many Dutch municipalities. ‘If you’re new as a civil servant, a political setting can be very difficult. You only have a short time to figure out how everything fits together. If, in your view, councillors are unnecessarily putting the brakes on or asking irrelevant questions, that can be frustrating and discouraging.’

Ambition for 2030

According to Van de Klift, twenty years ago there was more focus on training new civil servants. Due to various circumstances, the focus has now shifted primarily to delivery. ‘Development and learning have been pushed into the background. This collaboration will change that. The council has the ambition to be recognised as the best trainer for civil servants by 2030. It may be that staff who follow the learning pathway will be working elsewhere in a few years’ time, but we must be willing to support one another within the public sector.’

Radboud University has had many links with the municipality of Nijmegen for years through research, work placements and graduate placements. However, no connection has ever been as intensive as the one established now with this learning pathway, not even with another municipality. Van Genugten: ‘It is wonderful to enter into this partnership. In addition to Public Administration, Radboud in'to Languages is involved. Other departments within Nijmegen School of Management, such as Economics and Urban Planning, may also join. This depends on the themes that are chosen.’ For Van de Klift, the collaboration fits in well with the bond the municipality already has with the university. ‘We are proud of the university in our city. Many students end up working in our organisation, and we benefit greatly from that.’

Text: Willem Claassen

Contact information

Would like to know more? Please contact Marieke van Genugten. Interested in collaborating with Nijmegen School of Management (Radboud University)? Please contact externerelaties.fm [at] ru.nl (externerelaties[dot]fm[at]ru[dot]nl).

Contact: Dr M.L. van Genugten (Marieke)
Organizational unit: Nijmegen School of Management, Public Administration, Radboud Management Academy