The Netherlands Government Information Service (''Dutch:'' Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst, abbrev.: RVD) is a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

. The RVD is the official information service of the Dutch government and is the spokesbody for the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...

and the Dutch Royal House. The RVD is also responsible for providing public information on government policy, the prime minister and the

Ministry of General Affairs , type = Department , logo = Ministerie van Algemene Zaken Logo.png , logo_width = 250x250px , logo_caption = Logo of the Ministry of General Affairs , image = Ministerie Algeme ...

. In addition to its Information Service duties, the RVD is also responsible for giving advice on publicity and communications to several agencies and the Royal House, plus it coordinates between all the ministerial information services in The Netherlands. Organizationally, the RVD is a

directorate-general Within the European Union, Directorates-General are departments with specific zones of responsibility, the equivalent of ministries at a national level. Most are headed by a European Commissioner, responsible for the general direction of the Dir ...

of the Ministry of General Affairs. It consists of the following sections: * The management staff. * The Press and Publicity department, whose primary duties are coordinating the public appearances of the members of the Royal House. * The Information Services department, which is responsible for providing information regarding government policy to the prime minister and the chief civil servants at the ministry. This group collects and analyzes data 24 hours a day from a myriad of sources (both open and confidential). The department also includes the "new media" group, which publishes the ministry and royal house websites and the government website. * The Communications Policy department, which is responsible for defining the entire government (strategic) policy on communications and coordinating information provision between the ministries. * The Directorate Public and Communication, which is the operational part of the RVD. This department seeks to improve communication between the government and the public. As an extension of this, the department is responsible for government contracting with third parties in the area of communications, communications project management, communications research and development of means of communication. The department is also responsible for running "Postbus 51" (PO Box 51), the government public information channel (which spreads government information through flyers, television ads, and other advertising channels). As part of the coordinating responsibilities of the RVD, the director-general of the RVD is also the chairman of the Voorlichtingsraad, which is the meeting place of all the information service directors of all the Dutch ministries. The current director general of the RVD is Stephan Schrover. Previous DGs have included Henk Brons, Gerard van der Wulp, and Eef Brouwers before that.

References

External links

* {{authority control Government agencies of the Netherlands Public service announcement organizations