My professional mission is to make data work in and for the public sector with the ultimate goal to make people’s lives better. The twin digital and green transition, the data-driven public sector, open data, digital trust and co-creation in the public sector are some of the key themes in my work. My regular working languages are English, German, French, Spanish and Dutch (mother tongue). In addition, I have taken up the study of Italian.

 

In September 2024 I joined digital agency Liip, where I advise public sector clients all over Switzerland and beyond on data products and services. I also act as an expert advisor to the Swiss Digital Initiative’s Digital Trust Label. Other recent activities include my intervention on the data-driven public sector at the World Bank Global GovTech Forum and co-authoring the World Bank’s How-to-Note on interoperability in the public sector. Until July 2023 I served as associate director of digital government and data at the Brussels based thinktank the Lisbon Council. In that capacity, I carried out research projects for the European Commission on digital government, data and the green transition. Examples are the DECIDO project on innovative methodologies, tools and data enabling the effective development of better evidence-based policies by public authorities and USAGE, which focuses on urban data spaces for the Green Deal. I also contributed to research for data.europa.eu, the European Commission study ‘Data Analytics for Member States and Citizens‘ and the Co-VAL project on understanding value co-creation in public services for transforming European public administrations. 

 

Previously, I worked as a policy analyst at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2015-2019), leading the analytical work on the data-driven public sector and contributing to several country reviews on digital government and (open) data. Among other things, I coordinated and co-drafted the OECD impact assessment of digital government in Colombia and the consecutive Digital Government Review of Colombia. Through my research and analytical work as well as my frequent interactions with delegates from EU countries and beyond, I helped advance the broader OECD work on the digital transformation of the public sector, digital government indicators, open government data, digital welfare, innovation policies and technology trends.

 

I hold a PhD in Public Administration (Digital Government) from Tilburg University (2014) and master’s degrees in Communication and Information Sciences (University of Groningen, 2003) and Public Administration (Radboud University Nijmegen, 2006). My doctoral research concerns the analysis of Public Mobility Surveillance in the Netherlands and its implications for the government-citizen relationship. The main research conclusion is that government increasingly approaches mobile citizens in terms of a risk to society. I conducted this research at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society of Tilburg University. I also worked as a lecturer of Public Administration at both Tilburg University (2008-2011) and Erasmus University Rotterdam (2013-14). During the academic year of 2014-15 I fulfilled the position of associate researcher at the Centre d’Études et de Recherches de Sciences Administratives et Politiques (CERSA) of CNRS and Université Paris II | Panthéon Assas.