Commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Knowledge Platform conducted an evaluation of the Commissie Bijzondere Situaties. This committee has been active since 2014 as a safety net for residents of the gas extraction area who are in a pinch due to an accumulation of problems. The committee offers tailor-made solutions to give residents perspective again.

 

The evaluation covers the entire period in which the committee has been active: from the start of the committee in 2014, as an advisory committee to the NAM, to the present, in which it is an advisory committee to the IMG. In addition, we reflect on the future of safety nets such as the committee: what kind of help is expected to be needed in Groningen and around the gas storage Norg for residents who will get into trouble in the coming years? To answer this question, the evaluation also highlights the differences between the Commissie Bijzondere Situaties and another recently established safety net: the Interventieteam.

 

The evaluation has several parts. (i) For the desk research, we analyzed various (policy) documents, including the annual reports of the committee and the Independent Counsel, Parliamentary documents and legislative texts. (ii) In 29 interviews we spoke to a total of 37 people who were involved in some way with the committee. We interviewed, among others, professionals involved in the committee, the municipalities involved in the supply of casuistry, and civil society organizations with a view on the problem. (iii) The analysis and reflection had several phases: after an initial tentative analysis, the first impressions were further explored in follow-up interviews.

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The results of the evaluation are presented in the final report Help with special and harrowing situations in Groningen: an evaluation and a look ahead. This was presented to the client, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, at the end of May. The report was presented to the House of Representatives by State Secretary Vijlbrief and discussed in the Mining/Groningen committee debate on 30 June 2022.