The Netherlands

In order to understand the position of top civil servants and the competencies that are regarded as requisite for the responsibilities they perform, it is pertinent to describe the political and administrative context within which top civil servants operate. In The Netherlands, this context has changed significantly since the 1980s under the influence of several developments, one of which is the NPM movement. These changes have gone along with the creation of the Senior Civil Service. A competency framework for top civil servants formed the basis for policies of recruitment and selection, training and development, and career planning and mobility. Following a description of the current model of training and the inherent views on leadership competencies, the changing views on administrative leadership and the training of top civil servants in relation to the shifts in the political and administrative environments and wider society are analyzed.