The AI Act, effective from August 1, 2024, introduces EU-wide standards to ensure the ethical and safe use of artificial intelligence (AI). Dutch municipalities must be fully compliant by 2026, navigating complex legal and operational challenges. This study assesses their readiness through survey data and interviews with municipal representatives. Although awareness of the Act is high, significant gaps remain between regulatory knowledge and implementation. Municipalities face issues such as limited legal capacity, uneven digital transformation, and ethical uncertainty—resulting in fragmented AI governance. While compliance frameworks are emerging, most approaches remain reactive. This study identifies key barriers and recommends measures to strengthen AI literacy, clarify regulations, and improve ethical oversight. A coordinated national strategy is essential to align local governance with policy goals. Drawing on theories of symbolic versus substantive compliance, policy-implementation gaps, and regulatory adaptation, the study contextualises the findings and calls for further research on best practices, intergovernmental collaboration, and long-term governance strategies.
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Abstract Background: COVID-19 was first identified in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China. The virus quickly spread and was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. After infection, symptoms such as fever, a (dry) cough, nasal congestion, and fatigue can develop. In some cases, the virus causes severe complications such as pneumonia and dyspnea and could result in death. The virus also spread rapidly in the Netherlands, a small and densely populated country with an aging population. Health care in the Netherlands is of a high standard, but there were nevertheless problems with hospital capacity, such as the number of available beds and staff. There were also regions and municipalities that were hit harder than others. In the Netherlands, there are important data sources available for daily COVID-19 numbers and information about municipalities. Objective: We aimed to predict the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 infections per 10,000 inhabitants per municipality in the Netherlands, using a data set with the properties of 355 municipalities in the Netherlands and advanced modeling techniques. Methods: We collected relevant static data per municipality from data sources that were available in the Dutch public domain and merged these data with the dynamic daily number of infections from January 1, 2020, to May 9, 2021, resulting in a data set with 355 municipalities in the Netherlands and variables grouped into 20 topics. The modeling techniques random forest and multiple fractional polynomials were used to construct a prediction model for predicting the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 infections per 10,000 inhabitants per municipality in the Netherlands. Results: The final prediction model had an R2 of 0.63. Important properties for predicting the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 infections per 10,000 inhabitants in a municipality in the Netherlands were exposure to particulate matter with diameters <10 μm (PM10) in the air, the percentage of Labour party voters, and the number of children in a household. Conclusions: Data about municipality properties in relation to the cumulative number of confirmed infections in a municipality in the Netherlands can give insight into the most important properties of a municipality for predicting the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 infections per 10,000 inhabitants in a municipality. This insight can provide policy makers with tools to cope with COVID-19 and may also be of value in the event of a future pandemic, so that municipalities are better prepared.
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In June 2016, two Dutch SME companies which are active in the area of urban solid waste management approached the International Environmental Sciences department of Avans about the current R&D activities on urban solid waste management in cooperation with the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) Brazil. The companies had interest in developing activities in Brazil, since they are aware of the great potential for exporting both knowledge and technology. Solid waste poses a major problem in Brazil which affects 200 million residents. The Brazilian municipalities collect around 71 million tons solid municipal waste on a yearly basis and only a tiny percentage of this collected waste gets recycled. As such. the overwhelming majority of the collected urban solid waste goes to landfills. Within the State of Minas Gerais there are 850 towns of which 600 have less than 20.000 residents and are agriculturally oriented. Current organic waste composting practices take place under very poor conditions (pathogens and weeds still remain in the compost) and most often the resulting compost product is not well received by its residential and agricultural consumers. As such there is huge room for improvement. The SME companies work with Avans and UFMG to address these challenges. The joint research team consisting of the two Dutch SME companies and the two Research and educational institutes have defined the following research question: What is the current status of organic solid waste management in Minas Gerais and how can cooperation between Brazil and the Netherlands result in a win-win for both countries? Two individual KIEM VANG proposals have been defined in order to address these challenges. The planned activities are a joint effort with professor R. T. de Vasconcelos Barros of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) and are executed within the Living Lab Biobased Brazil program (www.biobasedbrazil.org).
Urban professionals need streamlined methods for identifying climate risks and prioritising equitable adaptation solutions in an inclusive, participatory way. The Netherlands' national discourse on climate adaptation highlights the need to protect the most vulnerable groups. However, current adaptation conventions rely heavily on biophysical data to locate climate hazards through 'stress tests' and prioritise adaptation based on existing infrastructure projects and political agendas. This approach often marginalises vulnerable groups and evades community engagement, resulting in inequitable outcomes. ENGAGED, the Equity Nexus of Governance, Adaptation Planning & Design for Urban Climate Resilience, proposes a novel practice-oriented approach where theoretical knowledge on equitable climate adaptation is empirically tested and applied to the Dutch context, emphasising trans-disciplinarity and equity, aiming to maximise impact. We will assess neighbourhood and block-level risks by extending the 'stress tests' to include demographic, cultural, socio-economic, and health indicators along with biophysical and climate data. We will identify adaptation opportunities that align with diverse planning agendas and prioritise projects based on potential linkages-benefits, and equity considerations. By collaborating with practitioners and community groups, we aim to gain valuable insights and confirm the effectiveness of our approach. The project will explore stakeholder engagement strategies to determine suitable adaptation solutions and identify governance barriers to adoption. We aim to facilitate equitable climate adaptation governance, planning, and design supporting municipalities to serve vulnerable groups more effectively and promote climate justice. ENGAGED will build upon research into climate adaptation and socio-economic issues from a range of projects, including the ZonMW Wijkaanpak Hitte, BEAT THE HEAT, Interreg Cool Cities, Horizon Up2030, KIN Accelerating Just Climate Transitions, NWO Citizen participation in climate adaptation, Interreg Cool Towns, and Buurtdashboard, Sociale kwetsbaarheid hitte and Wijktypen (KlimaatEffectAtlas).
Historical sites, specifically former military fortifications, are often repurposed for tourism and recreation. While some of over 100 Dutch forts are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites, a substantial number are currently underdeveloped, putting their heritage value and biodiversity at risk. This demands action, as forts are well-positioned to relieve overtourism in other locations, responding to the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Convention's call to spread visitors to lesser-known areas. Furthermore, developing lesser-known fort sites could provide tourism and recreation opportunities near populated areas, thus contributing to the well-being not only of visitors but also the environment. Development initiatives depend on a transition from isolation to cooperation across sites. However, for cooperation to be effective, enterprises and agencies managing these forts still lack data regarding visitor expectations and experiences. We will employ a multidisciplinary approach to capturing visitor demographics, motivations, and experiences, through conducting quantitative questionnaires, lab-driven physiological experience measurement, and location tracking. This proposal builds on the previous project, “Experiencing Nature”, funded by Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism, and Hospitality, which utilized Breda Experience Lab technologies to explore visitor experiences at Fort de Roovere. In sum, the purpose of the present project is to measure and analyze visitor demographics, motivations, and experiences at less-developed forts, and to develop a toolkit to inspire, support, and monitor development of these forts for heritage preservation, visitor experience, and biodiversity. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Flemish partners, thereby forming the consortium comprised of the Alliantie ZuiderWaterlinie (NL), Regionale Landschappen (VL), and Agentschap Natuur en Bos (VL), with support from municipalities in both countries. The project will promote regional synergies and facilitate long-lasting cross-border collaboration, especially toward coming Interreg EU proposals, whilst informing the design of interregional marketing campaigns and supporting planning for visitor flows and biodiversity conservation efforts. Collaborative partnersNHL Stenden, Alliantie Zuidwaterlinie, RLRL, Agentschap Natuur en Bos.
