What does prosperity mean if we look beyond economic growth? And who decides what counts? Researchers at Erasmus University Rotterdam, in collaboration with TU Delft and the province of South Holland, have developed the Brede Welkaart (Broad Prosperity Map). This interactive tool shows what Dutch municipalities are actually focusing on by looking at the motions they have submitted. And it immediately provides unexpected insights.
Using advanced language models, more than 113,000 municipal council motions from over 300 Dutch municipalities were analysed to obtain an up-to-date and dynamic picture of what is happening locally in the field of broad prosperity. Initiator Dr Kees Krul explains why this approach is so innovative:
'Existing monitors, such as Statistics Netherlands' (CBS) Monitor of Well-being, measure dozens of predetermined, static indicators. This makes it difficult for politicians to implement policy. Moreover, there is a risk that this approach overlooks changing and local issues, even though these are highly relevant to the residents of the Netherlands. The Broad Prosperity Map reverses this perspective: instead of a top-down approach, it uses a bottom-up approach to determine what is measured.'
'They are essentially a type of Sustainable Development Goals at the municipal level'
Dr Kees Krul
Manageable, applicable and up-to-date
By analysing municipal motions for semantic coherence, recurring themes were automatically identified without the intervention of a researcher. The language models found 192 clusters in the data, which were then reduced to fourteen core topics, such as affordable housing, poverty, energy transition, living environment and accessibility.
'They are actually a kind of Sustainable Development Goals at the municipal level,' explains Krul. 'This makes the concept of broad prosperity manageable and applicable. And because the method is repeatable and the data can be updated annually, new social developments and shifts in values are automatically incorporated into the analysis.'
Notable findings
When studying the Broad Welfare Map, a number of things immediately stand out. For example, the theme of asylum and reception appears relatively infrequently at the local level (approximately 3% of the motions), despite its prominent place in the national political debate. It is often issues such as housing and poverty that dominate in many municipalities. The map also shows clear regional differences. In Groningen, for example, the energy transition stands out, while in various municipalities outside the Randstad, poverty receives relatively more political attention.
'I think you can clearly see here that some issues are being blown out of proportion at the national level, for example for political gain,' says Krul. 'What's more, you can now see much more clearly where issues are playing out geographically. With that information, you can pursue more targeted policies and more easily see what trade-offs are needed.'
Who is it intended for
Krul believes that not only policymakers, but also researchers and residents of municipalities can obtain useful information from The Broad Prosperity Map: 'For example, you can use the data for regression analyses. But I think that citizens can also benefit from it. As a spin-off, we have therefore developed the Stemlokaal, a kind of voting aid for the upcoming municipal elections. But I must add that it is still in the experimental phase at the moment.'
Collaboration and funding
The project was made possible by the Resilient Delta Kickstarter Grant, but that grant ends this summer. In order to continue the Broad Prosperity Map, Krul is open to collaboration with others. 'It would be great if we could be housed by an organisation such as Open Decision-Making (an initiative to bring together data from municipalities, provinces and other authorities in a single search environment). I am also in talks about an NWO grant. I am hopeful that it will work out: The Broad Prosperity Map provides a dynamic picture of broad prosperity in changing times. And that is, of course, indispensable.'
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About Broad Prosperity
The Broad Prosperity Map is an initiative of principal investigator Dr Kees Krul and was developed within the Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity research initiative, under the supervision of Prof. Martin de Jong and in collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam, TU Delft, the Province of South Holland, the Resilient Delta Initiative and Malmö University.
Do you have any questions about The Broad Prosperity Map? Get in touch with Dr Kees Krul via krul@rsm.nl.
About Convergence / Resilient Delta Initiative
Resilient Delta Initiative is one of five programmes run by Convergence, an alliance between Erasmus University Rotterdam, TU Delft and Erasmus MC. Within this network, researchers, policymakers, businesses and civil society organisations work together to connect science and society. We bring together knowledge institutions, public and private parties, and residents to work on solutions to the major challenges facing our urban delta. Would you like to know more? Then visit the webpage about Resilient Delta.
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