Nationale Politieke Index
Who are we?
The National Political Index is an initiative of journalist and political scientist Ton F. van Dijk and parliamentary data analyst Frank van Kooten. They embarked on this innovative adventure in 2020 and made this project possible entirely from their own resources.
Mission
A transparent measurement tool is crucial to the credibility of the Nationale Politieke Index. Measurement results should surprise, but never disbelieve. They offer insight rather than superficial observations based on independent data from parliament itself.
Ultimately, the Nationale Politieke Index leads to a ranking of Members of Parliament. In this way, we discover which politicians in parliament score highest on relevant performance indicators based on numbers and thus are “most active” representatives of the people in Parliament.
The NPI is a measurement tool that captures how MPs function in parliament based on data from the parliament itself. Thus, for the first time in the parliamentary history of the Netherlands, the work of Members of Parliament based on their three main core tasks is insightfully mapped out.
And it is needed. Because right now, the media have a lot of influence on how voters perceive their representatives. Only a limited number of Members of Parliament manage to make it to the columns of newspapers or news sections on radio and television. A process that reinforces itself.
A dynamic has emerged in which a handful of parliamentarians (often the group chairmen and a single well-known Member of Parliament) may enjoy the attention of journalists and programmers. The largest group of elected representatives remains relatively unknown to the citizens they represent.
Something that is reinforced by the political system in our country in which Members of Parliament are placed on the electoral list by their party with the help of special committees in a process that lacks transparency.
In fact, their fate depends mainly on the success of their party's list leader. From this perspective, there is actually quite little to choose from. And that too often leads to manhood and personality politics rather than focus on the substance of the work of Members of Parliament.
The Nationale Politieke Index aims to contribute to the transparency of the political process and the work of Members of Parliament. Important goal: narrowing the gap between citizens and the politicians who represent them.
Initiators
"Members of Parliament are often judged by their media appearances. Forgotten is that they do much more. The Nationale Politieke Index makes that clear in an innovative way."
Ton F. Van Dijk (b. 1962) studied political science and public administration in Leiden. He was a television journalist and broadcasting executive. In 2007, he was elected Broadcaster of the Year. In 2017, he was named a Knight of the Order of Oranje Nassau.
"This tool in not only interesting for voters so they can see how their people's representatives are doing. Above all, we hope to demonstrate who are the workhorses and who are the ornamental horses in our Parliament. With the ultimate goal that these workhorses be preserved for the Parliament."
Frank van Kooten (b. 1984) worked in Parliament. He has experience in political data collection -evaluation and processing and knows the political process in the Parliament very closely.
Frank and Ton receive no compensation for their work at de Nationale Politieke Index