MINISTERIE VAN BINNENLANDSE ZAKEN EN KONINKRIJKSRELATIES

Their core work

The Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is the national government body responsible for public administration, digital government, identity documents, and civil service in the Netherlands. In H2020, it contributes policy expertise and real-world government infrastructure to projects that digitize cross-border public services, implement the once-only principle (citizens provide data once, governments reuse it), and strengthen ID document security against fraud. Their participation brings actual regulatory authority and pilot environments that few academic or private partners can offer.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The ministry's H2020 journey started in 2017 with foundational work on the once-only principle — making governments share citizen data so people don't repeat paperwork across borders (TOOP). By 2020, the focus expanded in two directions: DE4A scaled up digital government with blockchain, machine learning, and the Single Digital Gateway, while iMARS moved into security territory with ID document fraud detection. The shift shows a government body moving from administrative digitization toward more technically sophisticated and security-conscious digital infrastructure.

Moving from policy-level digital government participation toward hands-on engagement with AI, blockchain, and biometric security — expect future interest in trusted digital identity and AI-driven public services.

How they like to work

The ministry never coordinates projects — it participates as a government end-user and policy partner, which is typical for national ministries in EU research. With 101 unique partners across 26 countries, they operate in large consortia (these are major EU digital infrastructure projects). Their value to a consortium is not technical development but providing regulatory legitimacy, access to real government systems for piloting, and policy feedback loops.

Extensive European network: 101 unique partners across 26 countries, built through large-scale digital government consortia. This reflects the pan-European nature of once-only and digital gateway projects, which require participation from many member states.

What sets them apart

As a national ministry, they bring something no university or company can: actual regulatory authority and live government infrastructure for testing digital public services. A consortium with this ministry can pilot solutions in a real Dutch government environment and claim genuine policy relevance. For any project dealing with digital government, e-identity, or cross-border public services in Europe, having a G2G-level partner like this adds credibility and real-world validation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DE4A
  Largest funding (EUR 759K) and most technically ambitious — combining blockchain, ML, and the Single Digital Gateway into a pan-European digital government platform.
• iMARS
  Unexpected pivot into security: a government ministry contributing to biometric fraud detection research on morphing and image manipulation in ID documents.