Supervising public interests. Towards a broader perspective on government supervision

Greater attention is needed for the importance of supervision to protecting public interests. In its report Supervising public interests. Towards a broader perspective on government supervision (Report no. 89, 2013), the WRR therefore makes recommendations for making government supervision as exercised by the various inspectorates and market authorities more valuable for society.

Supervision paradox

In the report, the WRR refers to a ‘supervision paradox’: the demand from society for less supervision when things are going well and more supervision when things go wrong. The complex and alternating social circumstances call for a multi-dimensional and dynamic approach to the practice of supervision. Such a broader perspective requires adequate guarantees of three core values of supervision: impartiality, independence and public accountability.

Increasing the value of supervision for society

The WRR proposes that the benefits of supervision for society and its effectiveness need to be more clearly identified, that supervision’s function in identifying and raising issues should be enhanced and that the independent role of supervision in the political-social force field should be enhanced. By looking beyond recent incidents, government supervision can acquire greater added value for society.