Task and position
The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) is an independent advisory body for government policy. Our task is to provide science-based strategic policy advice to the Dutch government and Parliament on strategic issues that are likely to have significant long-term social and political consequences.
The research projects and publications of the WRR do not focus on specific policy areas, but on cross-cutting themes that require coordinated policymaking across domains. Our work is meant to sharpen the focus on the long-term aspects of public policy to complement day-to-day policymaking, which often focuses on immediate problems that dominate the agenda of the day. Our reports seek to open new perspectives and directions for public policy by questioning assumptions and problem definitions that are often taken for granted, by analysing the problems and unintended consequences of existing policies, as well as by drawing on expertise from across scientific disciplines and stakeholder communities to inform and enrich the public debate.