ministry. The big difference between politicians and officials lies in the fact that the official machinery is—again, in principle—politically neutral and has a more consistent composition than the Cabinet. Consistency is also the strength of the official machinery. Because of this, it can further expand and deepen its substantive professional knowledge. The process of scenario communication is thus not a process of political compromise, but an unvarnished, factual, and substantive representation of a range of values, choices, and related dilemmas and consequences. It shows the process of consideration, and not just the decision-making process. The Role of the Minister Whether officials step out of the shadows through scenario communication has no effect on the primacy of politicians, provided that it is the minister who gives the official machinery the space for this. It is up to the minister to recognise the added value of making visible what has until now been hidden. And although the official machinery will now be seen and heard, scenario communication certainly does not imply that the officials will interfere with the political debate or become a party to the decision-making. They will provide insight into what they are doing, without proclaiming an opinion or assigning value to certain choices. It is up to the politicians and the officials to acknowledge added value and make use of it. It is up to the minister to realise that the thought processes of the official machinery can be used to bridge the gap between citizens and the administration. Politicians and officials will not get in each other’s way, but provide added value for each other in achieving a common goal: closing the gap between central Government and the citizen.
the Government. What we want to see and hear is what the Government is actually doing for us, and how and why it is doing it. We want to see what is taking place in the ministries, and the quality of policy preparation. The official machinery is the appropriate site for this task. The initiative lies with the Cabinet, which must choose to give the official machinery the space to step out of the shadows. The Cabinet must see that communication from the official machinery is not restricted to the elucidation of already formulated policy; the process that precedes that stage must be visible. An entirely different and more complete picture of the added value of the official machinery would then be created. The ministry must no longer put the emphasis on bringing in the outside world but, above all, on bringing the inside world out. Show what is happening in the ministries. This can be achieved with scenario communication. It provides good policy preparation internally and the chance to increase understanding externally, because a view is obtained of the complexity of the process of policy formation. Scenario communication is thus an instrument for central Government as it prepares policy, and an instrument to narrow the gap between central Government and the citizen.
Mobility or Continuity? The Senior Civil Service Office (BABD) was established in 1995 to promote the mobility of top officials and, later, ensure the succession of crucial positions in the Government.. The goal was to get past the fragmentation among the ministries and to invest in the development of management in the civil service. Although this initiative was positively received by many, there has also been criticism. There is talk of a loss of substantive knowledge because of the rapid changes in function and the heavy emphasis on achieving concrete results instead of on neutrality, precision, and continuity. The criticism is relevant to the strategy of scenario communication, because it is precisely focused on the substantive knowledge of the official machinery, of which continuity is the foundation. It is, however, not clear to what extent mobility at the top reduces substantive knowledge throughout the organisation. Who says that responsibility for the creation and communication of scenarios cannot lie lower down in the organisation?
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Conclusion We live in age marked by critique and in which there is a wish to see proof of the correctness of the actions of