How an AI competence centre can strengthen Dutch government

The strength of a connected AI foundation

The study shows that many of the building blocks for responsible AI adoption are already in place. Government organisations are developing training programmes, experimenting with AI applications, and building expertise in legal, ethical and technical domains. This involves not only AI specialists, but also policymakers, legal professionals, managers and senior leaders, all of whom encounter AI from their own professional perspective. However, much of this knowledge and experience is still developed within individual organisations, projects or networks. As a result, successful approaches are not always shared effectively or scaled more broadly across government.

The greatest opportunity therefore lies not in creating new initiatives, but in strengthening the connections between technology, policy, regulation and organisational development. This requires closer collaboration both across different areas of expertise and between organisations.

Four key functions of an AI competence centre

An AI competence centre can serve as a bridge between existing knowledge, expertise, practical experience and support services. To make these resources more widely accessible and applicable, the study identified four key areas of support: knowledge development and knowledge sharing, collaboration and expertise exchange, AI competency development, and technical support. Together, these functions can enable a more coherent and scalable approach to AI adoption across government.

Not a blueprint, but a direction for development

There is no single governance model for a government-wide AI competence centre. The most appropriate governance model will depend on the needs of participating organisations, the ambitions they seek to achieve, and the wider governance context. For this reason, the study developed four archetypes:

• a central knowledge hub
• a decentralised knowledge hub
• a central orchestrator
• a bottom-up community

These archetypes are not intended as blueprints for a single end-state model. Rather, they provide policymakers and decision-makers with a framework for assessing how knowledge sharing, support and governance can best be organised.

Integration as the key to success

The value of an AI competence centre does not lie in a single facility, training programme or knowledge platform. Its real strength comes from integrating knowledge, competencies, support functions and organisational structures into a coherent ecosystem. This enables organisations to make better use of AI in a responsible and effective way. The centre can act as a central point of connection for public sector professionals across different roles and varying levels of AI maturity and expertise.

Through this exploration, TNO and BZK have taken an important step towards a more coordinated approach to AI adoption within government. The proposed framework provides a foundation for sharing existing knowledge more effectively, accelerating learning across organisations, and supporting responsible AI implementation throughout the public sector.

The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is currently examining the structure of the AI competence centre in collaboration with existing AI communities within the government. From the end of 2026, there will be a single platform for and by the government, focused on collaboration, knowledge-sharing and advancing AI best practices.