Regie bij de bijstand

The Dutch term 'regie' (loosely translated as governance or steering) is often linked to the experienced need to control the cooperation in complex horizontal networks. However, it is also visible as a steering mechanism used in more regulated tasks, as well as decentralised tasks. The Participation Act, and in particular social assistance, has detailed regulations that were not considered by the central government to be competitive with the current ideas, which calls for a more tailored approach. The article explores the government's 'regie' efforts, and makes clear that the central government has used multiple steering mechanisms to adjust the decentralised task of implementing social assistance. However, it remains unclear whether the central government has 'regie', as this implies control over those who are being steered.