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Risk, Resilience & Compliance

Data & AI

Government and Public Sector

Most important obligations in the AI Act: how to comply now?

Break through in regulation of AI: The AI Act

This text is translated from Dutch with the help of AI - On December 8, 2023, the European Union reached a preliminary political agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Regulation (hereafter referred to as the AI Act). The final text is formal approved by the European Parliament. 20 days after official publication the AI Act will enter into force. This landmark legislation marks the EU's first step towards regulating artificial intelligence, targeting developers, distributors, and users of AI systems, including those systems used for predictions, classifications, and analyses.
The potential impact on governments and businesses deploying AI systems is significant. In this insight, we'll walk you through the key obligations, how they affect your organization, and proactive steps you can take to ensure compliance.

Sabine Steenwinkel-den Daas

Germany

Netherlands

France

<title>Break through in regulation of AI: The AI Act | Highberg</title>

Digital

Responsible AI: how to achieve AI fairness with understanding and mitigation bias by AI

Bias in AI Explained

This text is translated from Dutch with the help of AI - "Tell me honestly, what's your biggest fear when it comes to algorithms and AI?" When I ask people this question, the response often is, "AI-systems discriminate!" And of course, discriminating is far from desirable. But how do we ensure that algorithms don't discriminate?
First and foremost, it's important to understand that algorithms themselves do not discriminate. However, algorithms can be developed in ways that lead to unwanted or undesired distinctions in representation of groups in the result. This is commonly referred to as "bias" in technical terms. 
Essentially, if you have control over the bias within the algorithm, you also minimalize discrimination. In this insight, I will explain how to achieve this. Let's start by answering the question: What is bias?

<title>This text is translated from Dutch with the help of AI - | Highberg</title>

Control AI risks and make impact: top criteria for responsible deployment of AI systems

In control of your AI systems

This text is translated from Dutch with the help of AI - Have you ever heard or said within your organization, "We're working with data/algorithms/AI" or "We have plenty of data initiatives, but scaling within the organization is challenging"? These questions all boil down to one main question: How do you ensure that you apply the right algorithms in the right way?

<title>In control of your AI systems | Highberg</title>

When is transparancy on AI sufficient? Comply to the AI Act with an algorithm registry?

Transparency with algorithm registry?

This article has been translated from Dutch with the help of AI: In an era where algorithms exert increasing influence on our daily lives, maintaining control over the latest developments and being transparent about them is more important than ever. This leads us to a crucial question: when is the openness and transparency surrounding these algorithms sufficient? The answer is not simple, because transparency goes beyond just registering the algorithm. In this article, we delve deeper into the steps needed to start working on transparent and responsible use of algorithms at 5 maturity levels.

<title>Transparency with algorithm registry? | Highberg</title>

Business Agility

Kelly Hauwert on her journey from trainee to senior consultant

From trainee to senior consultant

Microsoft Teams image 2

In 2022 Kelly Hauwert enjoyed her second promotion at Highberg. As she prepares to take on the new role of Senior Consultant with the organizational transformation firm, Kelly spoke to Consultancy.eu about how the firm’s entrepreneurial and warm culture has helped her grow while feeling at home. 
When Kelly Hauwert initially trained in social sciences with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, she never imagined that she would become a consultant. However, after a brief stint in the world of public relations, she heard about a consultancy traineeship with Highberg that piqued her interest. 
After speaking with some of the firm’s colleagues and partners, and passing a capability assessment, Kelly soon found herself walking through Highberg’s doors as an employee.

Kelly Hauwert

<title>Kelly Hauwert on her journey from trainee to senior… | Highberg</title>

Digital Strategy & Execution

Effective strategy execution with enterprise architecture

Effective strategy execution

Translating the business strategy into reality is a complex task. The majority of organizations fail to successfully implement their business strategy. What is the cause of this and can enterprise architecture provide a helping hand? Discover five scenarios where you can use enterprise architecture to increase the likelihood of successful strategy execution.

Arie van Nistelrooij

<title>Effective strategy execution with enterprise architecture | Highberg</title>

Security policies and frameworks for data pipelines in the public sector

Security policies and frameworks

Data pipelines are essential components of modern governmental operations. They facilitate the flow of information between (governmental) organizations, departments, and systems, ensuring efficient functioning of the government. With increasing digitization and data usage, vulnerabilities in the data pipeline have become a critical focus. In this blog, we explore the challenges, risks, and strategies for keeping government data pipelines secure.

Jousuf Mohamed

<title>Security policies and frameworks for data pipelines in the… | Highberg</title>

People, Leadership & Culture

Would you like to change your organizational culture?

Change your organizational culture

Culture; a fairly vague concept, yet everyone manages to give it a description. You probably recall the observing attitude that arises when you enter another family's home, visit another country, or experience the dynamics of a group for the first time. (Un)consciously, you take note of what is or isn't customary. What is being discussed here? What is valued? Or what isn't? What behavior or story can you expect a positive reaction to? In addition to families, countries, and groups of people, organizations also have their own culture. (Un)written rules set boundaries for employees' behavior in the background. If you want to develop your organizational culture, you must bring these unwritten rules out of the shadows and make them explicit. Therefore, Highberg's approach is aimed at converting the versatility of culture into behavior and concrete roles, creating control over the desired cultural change and the implementation and support of this change.

Riet Smits

Lianne Swenne

<title>Wil je jouw organisatiecultuur veranderen? Maak gewenst… | Highberg</title>

Would you like to change your organizational culture? Make desired behavior explicit and bring unwritten rules out of the shadows!

Organizational

Stop looking in the rearview mirror. A plea for actionable metrics

A plea for actionable metrics

Portfolio Performance Measurement #2: Stop looking in the rearview mirror. A plea for actionable metrics

There is nothing wrong with looking in the rearview mirror. It is necessary. The obvious nuance being it should not be the only thing you do as you drive your car down a busy road. In our previous blog ‘<a href="https://highberg.com/insights/are-project-metrics-dead-a-quick-guide-to-lean-portfolio-measurement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Are Project Metrics Dead?’</a>, we introduced two insights aimed at broadening our view of metrics. If we want to continue the car analogy; it is not just the roads, or the other cars around, but also the speedometer plus a mindful eye on any blinking red lights trying to warn you of a future car failure. We hope these first two insights will lead you to a more holistic understanding of ‘portfolio performance’. 

With such a wide set of metrics to choose from comes the next challenge: what should we focus on? How to use them to effect? Building on our first 2 insights, with Insight 3 we introduce the distinction between leading and lagging indicators. Insight 4 takes us to goal setting and one of the more popular tools in strategy-execution today, Objectives Key Results.

Koen Harbers

<title>Portfolio Performance Measurement #2: Stop looking in the… | Highberg</title>

Portfolio Performance Measurement Continued: A Plea for Actionable Metrics

Highberg's strategy against rising cybersecurity threats in industrial automation

ICS Security: setting new standards

Cybersecurity threats industrial automation (ICS/SCADA)

The world of Industrial Automation (IA) is increasingly facing cybersecurity threats. Not only foreign nuclear power plants have already been hacked, but also the first objects of our vital infrastructure. VKA has therefore developed a multidisciplinary approach to take IA to the desired higher level.

Huub Koninkx

<title>Cybersecurity threats industrial automation (ICS/SCADA) | Highberg</title>

Focus decision-making outside the boundaries of the program organization

Innovation in chains

Innovation in chains: focus decision-making outside the boundaries of the program organization

This past year I had the pleasure of being program manager for an ambitious "bottom up" initiative for exchange and reuse of soil data (chain computerization) of government and network operators. Many parties were involved such as municipalities and provinces but also dozens of (semi)private companies. At the time of writing this post, the program has temporarily stopped: the principals are looking for a way to regain funding and participation. In this blog, I briefly reflect on events and how additional measures can help this program - and other similar programs.

Ruud Boot

<title>Innovation in chains: focus decision-making outside the… | Highberg</title>

Leaders underestimate culture and their own impact on it

Leaders underestimate culture

This article was originally published on <a href="https://chro.nl/artikel/leiders-onderschatten-de-factor-cultuur-en-hun-eigen-impact-daarop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CHRO</a>.
Culture and behaviour are inextricably linked, but what about that? What influence does culture have on behaviour within organisations? In this blog I share some results from our most recent research and I draw attention to culture.
An organisational culture is an elusive thing. It determines which basic assumptions employees use to deal with internal and external issues. It affects how people perceive, think and feel things. This refers to the behaviour of employees and how they interact with each other. In addition, an organisational culture has a strong influence on the extent to which employees identify with a company.

Irma Doze

<title>Leaders underestimate culture and their own impact on it | Highberg</title>

The pinnacle of employee satisfaction

<a href="https://chro.nl/artikel/de-overtreffende-trap-van-medewerkerstevredenheid/">This article was originally published on CHRO.</a>
Just measuring satisfaction seems to be outdated for good. But what's smart to measure now?
On Sunday, March 20th, it was the International Day of Happiness. That prompted me to take another look at everything that is being measured around employees nowadays. It all started with 'just' employee satisfaction. But now, various new terms have emerged that we 'must' uncover, such as: engagement, workplace happiness, job satisfaction, involvement, vitality, and so on.
I see a similar development to what we experienced 20 years ago in marketing analytics. Just measuring satisfaction eventually proved insufficient, as satisfied customers were also found to leave. Therefore, many organizations now opt to measure the extent to which customers recommend the supplier (and/or the products), known as the Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Similarly, the Employer Net Promoter Score measures the recommendation of the organization as an employer; the 'pinnacle' of employee satisfaction. The goal of the Employer Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is primarily to learn from both the promoters (with a high eNPS score) and the detractors (with a low eNPS score), understanding the reasons behind their scores. This 'why' helps the employer continuously make improvements to enhance the work and working conditions for employees.

<title>The pinnacle of employee satisfaction | Highberg</title>

It's high time for data-driven inclusiveness management!

Data-driven inclusiveness management!

It is high time for data-driven inclusion management!

<a href="https://chro.nl/artikel/hoog-tijd-voor-datagedreven-inclusiemanagement/">This article is originally published on CHRO.</a>
Anyone who wants to increase the diversity of the workforce must simultaneously manage for inclusiveness. This can be measured very well, says analytics expert Irma Doze.
Do you believe that your organisation thinks and works in an inclusive way? That there is room for everyone, that employees feel at home? Practice is often less rosy than many people think. I see many organisations focussing mainly on increasing diversity in the workforce.

<title>It's high time for data-driven inclusiveness management! | Highberg</title>

IT department, are you still there?

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The world is changing rapidly, and with the advent of technological advancements, many organizations are being driven by digitization.
Within information provision (IT), also known as the IT department, it's no different. Think of the arrival of technologies like GenAI and Data Management. The business departments of an organization want to anticipate these changes.
To facilitate this, IT departments are facing increasingly greater challenges. They are often very busy ensuring the basics of their services are in order, passing audits, and meeting the year's forecasts. Due to this focus, there is often insufficient time to truly respond to all developments.
It's time to pull the handbrake, look around, and collaborate closely with the business.
Because I see more and more in practice that the business is following its own IV path. A path without the IT department. In this blog I describe in broad terms what you can do to make an active contribution to this as an IT department.

Jessica Drake Wetsteijn

<title>IT department, are you still there? | Highberg</title>

An integrated architectural approach for robust ICS/SCADA security

Working in architecture

Pexels dominika roseclay 1239460

Last year showed how vulnerable our infrastructure sometimes is as a result of cyber attacks. For example, PETYA caused non-functioning cranes at Maersk's container terminal, and non-functioning sorting machines at TNT. Also recently, some banks have proved inaccessible due to a DDos attack. Until now, mostly technical and related organizational measures have been taken to deal with such cybersecurity threats. However, it is slowly dawning on us that reactive measures will not be sufficient in the future if we want to guarantee the continuity of such infrastructure. So how do we really get our Operational Technology (OT/ICS/SCADA) properly secured?

<title>Stop muddling through and start working under architecture | Highberg</title>

Stop muddling through and start working under architecture

Battling invisible cyber threats in our digital realm

That other pandemic...

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The Corona crisis has once again made us aware of the vulnerability of our (open) society. Yet we have known for much longer that vulnerability to viruses also lurks in an entirely different world; our digital society.

Rutger Gooszen

<title>That other pandemic... | Highberg</title>

IT and I(I)OT are converging, now what, evolution or revolution?

IT and OT Fusion: managing change

IT and OT converging, how do we keep a grip on this (r) evolution?

IT and I(I)OT are converging, developments are accelerating, now what, evolution or revolution? 
Actually, there are 3 major developments happening simultaneously in the world of operational technology (OT). First, the number of business and management processes that require both office automation (IT) and OT to be available is growing; with or without interfaces between them. Applications are growing, but information security is not automatically growing with them. This makes a second development even more important, that of growing external threats, with most in the news ransomware, such as previously at Maersk, recently at the Gelderland security region. Last but not least, there is a new player in this domain, dubbed by someone the "IoT virus. It often starts with 'sensors,' but eventually it involves large data streams, which need to be controlled. Lots of potential but immature in terms of security, thus vulnerable. What should enterprise management do with this? Adapt quickly to these new developments, at the risk of making mistakes because of this speed? Opt for evolution or revolution? Our answer is 'both', but according to a controlled change approach, in which IT and OT are aligned, with a stepped Architecture process and appropriate Communication at each stakeholder level.

<title>IT and OT converging, how do we keep a grip on this (r)… | Highberg</title>

Discover the importance of data subject rights under the GDPR

Why the rights of data subjects are important

Waarom de rechten van betrokkenen onder de AVG zo belangrijk zijn

In today's digital world, personal data is everywhere. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) grants individuals specific rights regarding their personal data. But why are these rights so important, even if people rarely actively use them?

Frank van Vonderen

<title>Why the rights of data subjects under the GDPR are so… | Highberg</title>

Why the rights of data subjects under the GDPR are so important?

Discover the crucial privacy requirements to consider when selecting a SaaS provider

Privacy requirements for a SaaS supplier

Essentiële privacy eisen voor het kiezen van een Saa S leverancier

Choosing a SaaS provider is a decision that goes beyond just functionality and price. In a world where data is one of the most valuable assets of an organization, privacy and data protection are becoming increasingly important. But what are the key privacy requirements that a SaaS provider must meet?

<title>Essential privacy requirements for choosing a SaaS supplier | Highberg</title>

Essential privacy requirements for choosing a SaaS supplier

Privacy by Design: protection at the heart of algorithms

Is Privacy by Design important in algorithms?

Privacy by Design: Protection at the heart of algorithms

What is Privacy by Design?

Privacy by Design is a strategy that focuses on integrating privacy protection into technological products and systems from the outset. This approach means that privacy is a fundamental part of the design process, rather than an addition or adjustment made afterwards.

<title>Privacy by Design: Protection at the heart of algorithms | Highberg</title>

How can organizations make privacy by design concrete and actionable?

Het concreet maken van Privacy by Design

Making Privacy by Design Concrete: Practical Steps for Implementation

In today's digital age, where data is ubiquitous and privacy concerns are at the forefront, incorporating privacy by design principles into the development of products and services is paramount. Privacy by design refers to the practice of considering privacy and data protection from the outset of the design process, rather than as an afterthought. But how can organizations make privacy by design concrete and actionable?

<title>Making Privacy by Design Concrete: Practical Steps for… | Highberg</title>

Are project metrics dead? A quick guide to Lean Portfolio Measurement

Are project metrics dead? 

Are-project-metrics-dead?

Do on-time, on-scope and on-budget metrics really have no place in modern, product-led, and agile-embracing organizations?

<title>Lean Portfolio Measurement: A quick guide | Highberg | Highberg</title>

This is how you listen to your employee

The voice of the employee

The voice of the employee: How to listen to your employees

In the marketing world, actively listening to customers to meet their needs has become standard practice. Irma Doze, co-author of the book 'HR-analytics', now sees the same trend emerging among employees. But how do you actively listen to your employees, and why is it valuable?

Gido van Puijenbroek

<title>The voice of the employee: How to listen to your employees | Highberg</title>

How do you measure the impact of a culture change?

Improve Employee Satisfaction

How to Improve Employee Satisfaction After Organizational Change

Changes within an organization, or even a reorganization, can have a significant impact on employees. Sometimes their role changes, they are placed in a different position or organizational unit, or they may need to undergo training to meet new requirements. But even if personnel changes are limited, there are still consequences for employees.
This was also the case with an organization in the cultural sector, where a new director had been appointed. He made several changes and opted for a more commercial approach. Some of these changes caused unrest among employees. The management wanted to address this unrest and therefore sought the assistance of Highberg.
Henrieke van Bommel is an Analytics Translator at Highberg and is eager to share about this process.

Henrieke van Bommel

<title>How to Improve Employee Satisfaction After Organizational… | Highberg</title>

Interpreting and analyzing open-ended responses

Voice of the Employee Survey

Guille alvarez Ic I3 Fiz U9 Cw unsplash

How do you truly listen to your employees?
As an organization, you want your employees to enjoy their work. Happy employees ultimately lead to happy customers, and vice versa. Moreover, employees who are satisfied with their work and employer are more likely to stay with the organization longer. This is especially important now as the tightness of the labor market is strongly felt.
One way to measure the level of employee satisfaction is through an Employee Satisfaction Survey (ESS). This involves surveying employees with a set of questions, and repeating this process annually. Although almost every organization is familiar with an ESS, this traditional method of research is becoming less popular. This is mainly because the interval of a year is too long, creating, facilitating, filling out, and analyzing the surveys takes a lot of time, and all of this ultimately yields (too) little.
An alternative to the ESS is a Voice of the Employee Survey. With this approach, you focus on structured and continuous measurement, analysis, interpretation, and follow-up of the 'voice of the employee'. It concerns the experience of employees, or rather, the Employee Experience. When you know what the experience is and what influences it, you can respond accordingly.
This is exactly what a major insurer had in mind with their Voice of the Employee Survey. Alex Hellemons, Analytics Translator at Highberg, has guided this project and is keen to share more about it.

Alex Hellemons

<title>Voice of the Employee Survey: Interpreting and Analyzing… | Highberg</title>

Voice of the Employee Survey: interpreting and analyzing open-ended responses

Learn how your organization must act in the event of a data breach, under the GDPR

Navigating a data breach: step-by-step

A data breach is like an unexpected storm in the world of data protection. It can happen to anyone, but rest assured: the GDPR offers an umbrella in this storm. This blog guides you step by step through the process of managing a data breach according to the GDPR, so your organization can quickly become dry and safe again.

<title>Navigating a data breach: step-by-step | Highberg</title>

Organizations are required to keep such a register, what are the benefits?

Benefits of register of processing operations

What is a Record of Processing Activities (RoPA)?

What is a Record of Processing Activities (RoPA)?


A Record of Processing Activities is a detailed overview in which organizations document how personal data is processed. This includes information about the types of data collected, the purpose of the processing, with whom the data is shared, and how it is secured. According to the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), organizations are required to maintain such a record.

<title>Benefits of a register of processing operations under the… | Highberg</title>

Benefits of a register of processing operations under the GDPR

Are your actions complying with the GDPR? This guide will help you navigate the GDPR

How to know if it's allowed under the GDPR?

How to know if something is allowed under the GDPR

Since its introduction in 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has brought about many changes in how companies handle personal data. However, understanding the GDPR can be challenging, and it is often not immediately clear whether certain actions are allowed. This blog post provides a clear explanation of how you can determine if your practices are in line with the GDPR.

<title>How to know if something is allowed under the GDPR: a… | Highberg</title>

How to know if something is allowed under the GDPR: a practical tool

Having a DPO is essential to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

How to find a DPO that fits your organization

Hoe vind je een Functionaris Gegevensbescherming (FG) die perfect bij je organisatie past

In an era where data protection and privacy are becoming increasingly important, finding a suitable Data Protection Officer (DPO) becomes a crucial task for many organizations. Whether it's a large corporation, an SME, or a non-profit organization, having a competent DPO is essential to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). But how do you find a DPO who fits perfectly with the needs and culture of your organization? Here are some tips.

<title>How to Find a Data Protection Officer that Fits Your… | Highberg</title>

How to find a Data Protection Officer (DPO) that fits your organization perfectly

Creating a data transfer impact assessment: a step-by-step guide

The importance of a DTIA

Hoe voer je een DTIA uit

In the era of globalization and digital expansion, data is continuously sent around the world. As a result, a Data Transfer Impact Assessment (DTIA) has become essential. This assessment helps organizations evaluate the risks and compliance requirements associated with transferring personal data across borders. In this blog, we will take you step by step through the process of creating an effective DTIA.

<title>How do you conduct a DTIA? | Highberg</title>

How do you conduct a DTIA?

How policymakers can make ethical and measurable trade-offs when using AI and algorithms

The Importance of an Ethical Framework

Welcome to the Dynamic World of AI and Algorithms! These technologies are transforming our lives, but they also bring ethical challenges. How do we ensure that AI is fair, transparent, and accountable? We focus on establishing an ethical framework for policymakers and the general public, with steps and criteria for ethical considerations in the world of AI.

<title>The Importance of an Ethical Framework | Highberg</title>

Small college perform better Learning analytics offers opportunities for large institution

Scale affects study yield

Uit de data blijkt schaal is ook in hoger beroepsonderwijs van invloed op studierendement

Data shows: scale also influences study efficiency in higher vocational education   

What do the data tell us about the quality of education and study efficiency in higher vocational education? And what tools do the data offer for improving this? We have collected, analyzed and visualized open data on higher vocational education in a dashboard. This dashboard can be found on our website.   

From the analysis it can be seen that the study efficiency after 5 years of education in HBO has decreased by about 10 percentage points since 2002. Whereas almost 60% of the students who started their studies in 2002 (the so-called 2002 cohort) graduated in 5 years, this is only about 50% for students who started 10 years later. 
For universities, the smaller ones do better than the larger ones. This is also true for colleges of higher education. The dashboard shows that large institutions (with more than 20,000 students) score below the national average (the black line in the figure) on study efficiency. However, the gap with the national average has narrowed substantially since the 2000 cohort. 
To better understand the relationship between student success and institution size, we performed a correlation analysis. 
This clearly shows that the small institutions are doing better than the large institutions: the small institutions are in the top left of the figure and the large ones in the bottom right. 
One explanation for the better performance of small institutions may be that they offer very specific degree programs (especially in the arts, agri-business and based on a specific foundation/signature). 
Students who choose these institutions are thus making a more conscious choice for a specific program. In academic education, this can be seen at Wageningen University. This university has come out on top in the Study Choice Guide every year since 2004. Students who choose this university in "provincial village" Wageningen must be "very motivated," according to the guide.

Gijs de Groot

<title>Data shows: scale also affects study efficiency in higher… | Highberg</title>

Data shows: scale also affects study efficiency in higher vocational education

Student characteristics predict academic success. Customized support possible

Chracteristics as study success predictors

Learning Analytics Kenmerken van studenten als voorspellers voor studiesucces

In the previous blogs, we explained what learning analytics is. We also used a dashboard to show how scale in higher vocational education affects study success and what interventions are possible based on this information. However, scale of an educational institution is not the only variable that affects study success. After all, students differ from one another. Are there certain types, or profiles, of students who do better than others? In this third and final blog of this series, we will look for an answer to this question, again using the dashboard.

<title>Learning analytics: student characteristics as predictors… | Highberg</title>

Learning analytics: student characteristics as predictors of study success

Centralized, decentralized or hub and spoke? Efficient collaboration, clear structure.

The hub and the spokes

How do we get more out of our data? We ask our data specialists, but where are they in our organization? In a separate corner behind big screens and fat computers, among employees in departments or somewhere in between?

The hub and the spokes: how do we organize our data expertise?

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