Staatskaart for elected representatives and staff

Start with the decision at hand

First formulate the specific question: is it about legislation, provincial policy, a municipal decision or water management? Choose the corresponding level of government and explore the relationship between the representative body and the day-to-day executive. The House of Representatives scrutinises ministers and state secretaries, provincial councils scrutinise provincial executives and municipal councils scrutinise the executive of mayor and aldermen.

Record which body decides in the dossier and which body can request information about it. Check the precise power in the official proposal or decision. The map shows the general division of roles.

Check positions before copying names

Find the institution or area, then open the relevant position. The people register lets you search by name, position, party or municipality. Check the original source, date and any coverage notes. A name may appear under several positions; assess each entry in its own context.

For committees, you need the official agenda to establish where a specific topic is being considered. For an executive, the published allocation of portfolios is the starting point for finding the responsible officeholder.

Prepare a briefing someone can verify

Include five items in your notes: the question, institution involved, relevant position, official source and date checked. Add the dossier number and next scheduled consideration when known. Use a suitable map view or tour to explain the respective roles during the discussion.

Describe uncertainties specifically, for example that a municipal register is still incomplete or that two sources list different positions. This lets a colleague check the missing information directly.

Include the source in your work

Staatskaart combines registers with their own reference dates and source references. For each dataset, the sources page describes its origin, the information included and the terms of use. Keep the link to that description and to the original document alongside an overview. This lets colleagues find the information and update it later when positions, boundaries or figures change.