The 0.7 Version: Navigating Between Collectivity, Governance, and Autonomy in Education
How do you drive progress in digitalisation within a decentralised education organisation? At ROCvA-F, a smart approach involving a ‘0.7 version’ led to greater clarity, support and acceleration.
- ROCvA-F aimed to develop clear ICT policy principles to guide strategic decision-making on investments, processes, and priorities relating to educational technology.
- Turner was brought in for its expertise and proven experience in strategy execution.
- A small project group from the central departments laid the groundwork by drafting a thoughtful ‘0.7 version’ of the ICT policy principles and a Guideline for ICT Application Procurement.
- This version was widely shared with school directors and refined based on their feedback – visibly, openly, and with room for adjustments where needed.
- The result: acceleration, ownership, and broad recognition.
René van den Berg, Director of Educational Information & ICT Services at ROCvA-F, and Heleen van der Laan, Policy Advisor at the same department, in conversation with Jasmijn Wijn, Digitalisation in Education Expert at Turner.
1. What challenge prompted ROCvA-F to involve Turner – and what made it so complex?
The Regional Education Centre of Amsterdam – Flevoland (ROCvA-F) serves 39,000 MBO students, 4,000 secondary school pupils and many adult learners in lifelong learning and contract education. The institution comprises 12 MBO colleges, 7 secondary schools and one adult education (VAVO) school – each with its own leadership, culture and needs, and a strong emphasis on professional autonomy within educational teams.
In such a decentralised structure, maintaining a secure, manageable and future-proof digital landscape is no small feat.
René: “Teachers and teams considered the selection of educational applications part of their professional autonomy. That resulted in a proliferation of tools – sometimes different ones for every team. We had more than 100. Some didn’t meet national standards or legal requirements.”
Heleen: “At the same time, calls for more flexibility were growing louder – which requires a more coherent application landscape. And it was often unclear who was actually responsible for what.”
Jasmijn: “Educational teams didn’t initially see this as a problem for the whole organisation. They felt well supported at team level.”
Heleen: “But from our central position, we saw the bigger issue. Students were asking for more clarity and consistency in information services. And teachers also started to experience the downsides – particularly in cross-programme collaboration.”
Ultimately, the Executive Board tasked René and his team with developing institution-wide ICT policy principles and frameworks.
René: “We had a sense of direction, but the question was: how do you tackle something this big?”
That’s when Turner entered the picture.
René and Heleen: “Because this was a massive assignment – with conflicting interests and competing agendas. And because we needed someone who knew the subject matter and had done this before.”
One of the Turner consultants was already part of René’s network, which helped.
Jasmijn adds: “As Turner, we were excited. This is what strategy execution is about: enabling breakthroughs, finding space together, and making it work for everyone involved – both the educational teams and the ICT services.”
(QUOTE) “Strategy execution is about enabling breakthroughs, finding space together, and making it work for everyone involved.”
“Strategy execution is about enabling breakthroughs, finding space together, and making it work for everyone involved.”
2. What approach did ROCvA-F and Turner take?
It quickly became clear that a strong foundation was needed: ICT policy principles. But how to develop them?
Heleen: “We debated setting up a large project organisation involving all stakeholders. But we saw chaos and delay ahead. That approach would have been unmanageable.”
Jasmijn: “So we chose a different route: start with a small working group to create a ‘0.7 version’ – a thoughtful, incomplete draft – and then submit it to all stakeholders for feedback.”
René: “Before we started drafting, we conducted interviews and organised a session on December 1st with colleagues from education and ICT. We asked: What’s your most pressing question regarding digital support? The top answer: ‘Give us integrated frameworks. Give us a roadmap.’”
René: “We saw that coming, but it was important that the call came from within the organisation. It legitimised our efforts – this wasn’t just an IT-driven initiative.”
Heleen: “And Turner helped make the feedback process transparent and traceable. Everyone could see how their input was handled. No one could claim things were decided behind closed doors.”
Following that pivotal session, the project group developed the 0.7 version.
Jasmijn offers examples: “ICT supports education.” And: “ICT should be reusable and scalable.”
Heleen: “We treated the 0.7 version as serious groundwork – well thought-out, but still open to input.”
“We aimed to deliver thoughtful groundwork – but open enough for meaningful feedback.”
3.What created the breakthrough – in terms of content, change management or execution?
In unison: “The presentation of the 0.7 version to the DOOR and OBV directors.”
René: “We heard things like, ‘We see the problem, and we’re ready to address it together.’ And: ‘We could keep debating, but let’s just start – and evaluate later.’ That gave us goosebumps. We also had a few new directors who brought positive experiences with collective approaches from their previous institutions.”
Jasmijn: “Key success factors? Starting together, co-creation, and a strong connection to education.”
Heleen: “And visibly acting on feedback. Contributors saw their input reflected in the next version.”
René: “Turner played a big role there. People felt heard and taken seriously.”
Jasmijn: “Another key element: the ‘comply or explain’ principle. This allowed room for justified exceptions – while keeping collective agreements intact.”
Heleen: “But those exceptions must be based on conditions we all agreed to in advance.”
Based on the feedback, the project group developed the 1.0 version of the ICT policy principles, a procurement guideline for ICT applications, and – at the directors’ request – a governance structure for a shared development agenda and roadmap.
Heleen: “In hindsight, we should have released the 0.7 version earlier. The delay made some people anxious.”
“We could keep debating for months, but let’s just do it and evaluate later.”
4. Who benefits from this approach?
René: “Ultimately, the students – they now get faster, clearer access to information. And teachers spend less time on admin.”
Heleen: “There’s more clarity – including about what’s not possible.”
Jasmijn: “This approach also helped stakeholders understand each other better. It really boosted collaboration.”
“This approach helped stakeholders understand each other better. A real boost for collaboration.”
5. What are the key takeaways from this process?
Heleen: “The importance of shared ownership. You can’t hide behind others – we made these agreements together.”
René: “We’re not there yet, but awareness is growing.”
Jasmijn: “This is a stepping stone to broader collaboration. It’s essentially a change programme with an ICT component.”
René: “Digitalisation itself demands organisational change.”
Heleen: “We’ve shared our learnings at two conferences already – full rooms. We’re happy to keep sharing this story.”
René: “Almost every institution we speak to recognises the challenge. That’s encouraging.”
Jasmijn asks: “If you could do it over, would you start again with a 0.7 version?”
Heleen: “Absolutely. It creates clarity about ownership and gives the project group room to explore, even to get stuck and course-correct. If you involve everyone too early, you get tangled in competing interests.”
René: “And not to forget – the 0.7 version saved us a lot of time.”
René van den Berg, Director of Educational Information & ICT Services at ROCvA-F, and Heleen van der Laan, Policy Advisor at the same department, in conversation with Jasmijn Wijn, Digitalisation in Education Expert at Turner.
Heleen van der Laan
Policy Advisor ROCvA-F
René van den Berg
Director of Educational Information & ICT Services at ROCvA-F
Would you like to improve, innovate, and transform faster?
Turner is specialized in strategy execution. We make it our business to turn an organisations strategy into reality. For the seventh consecutive year, Turner has been recognized by clients as the best strategic consulting firm in the Netherlands. More than 4,000 executives and professionals participated in the MT1000 survey, in which Turner received the highest ratings for strategic consulting, client focus, excellent execution, and product leadership.
Read more about the results other clients achieved with the support of Turner Strategy = Execution. Ready to talk? Schedule an appointment. Contact us.
Want to learn more about Turner Education?
Now and in the future. Read more about Turner Education.
Make an appointment
Meer opdrachten
Klimmendaal
At the initiative of Verstegen Accountants in Dordrecht, Edwin Schippers of Turner conducted an organizational assessment of Klimmendaal, a rehabilitation center headquartered in Arnhem. The organization was facing several challenges:
Sustainable Improvement in Academic Success
High dropout rates and low completion rates. Utrecht University of Applied Sciences therefore sought to improve academic success in a comprehensive and systematic manner.
Aegon
Business Property Damage Transition Aegon Netherlands Clear Vision Driven by core values New criteria as the deciding factor From Vision to Execution Insurer Aegon has
NHL and Stenden
Collaboration Model and Transition Path for a Merger NHL and Stenden Shared Ambitions and Opportunities Coordination of the Entire Program Higher-quality education and research NHL
HAS University of Applied Sciences
Accelerated Implementation of the Educational Vision Flexible and Adaptive Education Made a Reality A Concrete Vision for Educational Reform Insights into the Progress of Educational Reform Self-Assessment for Faculty and
Noorderpoort
Digital Innovation in the Classroom ROC Noorderpoort Experimentation in Education Innovation in Attendance Tracking Saving Class Time Digital Innovation is high on the agendas of
Breakthrough in Primary Care
Spreekuur.nl is a great example of how digital healthcare makes it possible to provide the Right Care in the Right Place. With this triage and diagnosis app, patients can take
Digidok
Breakthrough in Primary Care DigiDok Results Treat 32% more patients per hour A virtual consultation can be 36–50% shorter than an in-person consultation 80% of
The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Faster assistance for students Clear responsibilities for teaching and education support staff A practical improvement plan for a critical process: testing and examinations. Accelerating progress on challenging issues: fraud detection
College of Woodworking and Furniture Design
Improved ordering process for students and faculty Smarter procurement of materials More even workload for “stores” (fewer peak periods) More efficient administration and better control over finances Foundation for continuous
Noorderpoort
A new direction for Noorderpoort that aligns with society in 2035. Strategy Execution: immediately testing the strategy in practice through experiments. Close alignment with the needs of students and the
Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority
Innovation in Oversight and Enforcement Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) Breaking Down Large-Scale and Complex Implementations Establishing an Implementation and Innovation Engine