Our report of the year 2023
The RvA may and must operate with a high degree of independence. Supervision of our work and advice in the decision-making process concerning accreditation are of major importance in this regard.
This guarantees the expertise, impartiality and independence of the RvA and provides a critical evaluation of our activities and our business operations.
The Board of Supervisors ensures that the Executive Board realises the objectives of the RvA and provides the Executive Board with advice. The members are selected based on expertise and competences.
The Accreditation Committee consists of five members. They have been appointed on the basis of their expertise in accreditation, their integrity and their independence. The Committee’s duty is to advise the Executive Board with regard to granting accreditations. In addition, it has the authority to advise the Executive Board regarding suspensions and withdrawals of accreditations.
After six years as a member, Prof. Dr. Bert Bakker bid farewell to the Accreditation Committee in 2023. The RvA is very grateful to Prof. Bakker for his contributions to the quality of the advice of the Accreditation Committee. On 1 June 2023, Prof. Dr. Hans Kristian Ploos van Amstel was appointed as a member of the Accreditation Committee as Bert Bakker’s successor.
In the event of objections against a decision by the RvA’s Executive Board, a member of this Committee will be engaged. The members of this Committee are strictly independent.
The RvA must comply with the relevant provisions of the Autonomous Administrative Authorities Framework Act and European Regulation 765/2008. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) supervises this. A regulatory evaluation of the RvA as an autonomous administrative authority takes place every five years.
For inspection of the substantive side of the work, the EZK Ministry can rely on the peer reviews by the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA), which the RvA undergoes every four years.
The responsibilities of the Executive Board include the realisation of the goals and business operations of the RvA. On 22 June 2023, both directors, Roeland Nieuweboer (chairman) and Joep de Haas (board member), were reappointed for four years. The two-person executive team receives advice from the Strategic Advice Forum, the User Council and the RvA Impartiality Consultation, among others.
The Strategic Advisory Forum was established in 2022 to engage in theme-oriented dialogue with its stakeholders about specific societal challenges. The composition of participants of the Strategic Advisory Forum partially varies depending on the theme on the agenda.
We invite a number of our stakeholders to every meeting: the EZK Ministry, NEN, Fenelab, NVCi, the Association of Scheme Owners and representatives from the medical laboratories. In addition to the permanent members, other stakeholders can also join meetings if they have an affinity with the selected theme.
A meeting on the topic of sustainability took place in 2023.
The User Council consists of representatives of the RvA’s direct clients and it advises the RvA on rates, standard of service, and the quality of the service provision. Furthermore, we informed the User Council about the digitalisation projects that are under (ongoing) development. Topics such as business development and joint development processes with clients were also discussed, as well as the scarcity in the labour market, the ‘Announced Extension Applications’ pilot and the status of the ‘Information-driven Working’ programme.
It is important that the RvA is impartial in its actions. The involvement of stakeholders in the process for ensuring impartiality is in line with the standard that the RvA must comply with, ISO/IEC 17011. In 2022, due to the revised structure of the (former) Advisory Panel of Stakeholders, the RvA Impartiality Assemblee was set up as a pilot to evaluate the RvA’s impartiality and to advise the Executive Board in this regard. The pilot phase of the revised design was evaluated in 2023. It was established that the pilot was successful and that the RvA Impartiality Assemblee will continue in the coming years.
In order to remain a signatory of the EA’s Multilateral Agreement (MLA), the RvA must satisfy the requirements of European Regulation 765/2008 and the international ISO/IEC 17011 standard.
Every four years, the RvA is assessed by an EA assessment team in the format of a peer review. The last peer review took place in 2021, with positive outcomes. The next peer review is planned for the end of 2025.
This overview shows the compositions of the governing bodies and advisory bodies on 1 March 2024.
2nd term until 1 December 2024
3rd term until 14 March 2025
3rd term until 1 August 2026
2nd term until 15 October 2026
3rd term until 31 August 2026
The Board of Supervisors’ report for 2023 can be found in the RvA’s 2023 Financial Report, which can be downloaded from rva.nl/en/annual-reports. This report also provides more information about the members of the Board of Supervisors and their additional functions.
Permanent participants of the Strategic Advice Forum are representatives of the EZK Ministry, NEN, NVCi, Fenelab, the medical laboratories and the Association of Scheme Owners. Depending on the theme, other stakeholders may join in.
