What does prosperity mean if we look beyond economic growth? And who decides what counts? Researchers at Erasmus University Rotterdam, in collaboration with Delft University of Technology and the province of South Holland, have developed the ‘Brede Welkaart’. This interactive platform shows what Dutch municipalities are actually focusing on by looking at the motions they have submitted. And it immediately provides unexpected insights.

Using advanced language models, more than 113,000 municipal council motions from over 300 Dutch municipalities were analysed to obtain an up-to-date and dynamic picture of what is happening locally in the field of broad prosperity. Initiator Dr Kees Krul explains why this approach is so innovative:

‘Existing monitors, such as Statistics Netherlands’ Broad Prosperity Monitor, measure dozens of predetermined, static indicators. This makes it difficult for politicians to implement policy. Moreover, there is a risk that you will miss changing and local issues, even though these are highly relevant to the residents of the Netherlands. The ‘Brede Welkaart’ reverses this perspective: instead of a top-down approach, it uses a bottom-up approach to determine what is measured.’

Manageable, applicable and up-to-date

By analysing municipal motions for semantic coherence, underlying themes were automatically identified without the intervention of a researcher. The language models found 192 clusters in the data, which were then reduced to fourteen core topics, such as affordable housing, poverty, energy transition, living environment and accessibility.

‘They are actually a kind of Sustainable Development Goals at the municipal level,’ explains Krul. ‘This makes the concept of broad prosperity manageable and applicable. And because the method is repeatable and the data can be updated annually, new social developments and shifts in values are automatically incorporated into the analysis.’

Notable findings

When studying the ‘Brede Welkaart’, a number of things immediately stand out. For example, the theme of asylum and reception appears relatively infrequently at the local level (approximately 3% of motions), despite its prominent place in the national political debate. It is often issues such as housing and poverty that dominate in many municipalities. The map also shows clear regional differences. In Groningen, for example, the energy transition stands out, while in various municipalities outside the Randstad, poverty receives relatively more political attention.

‘I think you can clearly see here that some issues are distorted at the national level,’ adds co-initiator Prof. Martin de Jong. ‘What’s more, you can now see much more clearly where issues are geographically relevant. With that information, you can pursue more targeted policies and more easily see what trade-offs are necessary.’

Who is it intended for?

Krul believes that not only policymakers, but also researchers and residents of municipalities can obtain useful information from the ‘Brede Welkaart’: ‘For example, you can use the data for regression analyses. But I think that citizens can also benefit from it. As a spin-off, we have therefore developed the ‘Stemlokaal’, a kind of voting aid for the upcoming municipal elections. But I must add that it is still in the experimental phase at the moment.’

Collaboration and funding

The project was made possible by the Resilient Delta Kickstarter Grant, but that grant ends this summer. In order to continue the ‘Brede Welkaart’, Krul is open to collaboration with others. ‘It would be great if we could collaborate with a party such as Open Besluitvorming (an initiative to bring together data from municipalities, provinces and other authorities in a single search environment). I am also in talks about an NWO grant. I am hopeful that it will work out: the ‘Brede Welkaart’ provides a dynamic picture of broad prosperity in changing times. And that is, of course, indispensable. ’

You can view the ‘Brede Welkaart’ from today at: www.bredewelkaart.nl