ForumStandaardisatie

What ForumStandaardisatie does

Forum Standaardisatie is a Dutch government advisory committee (adviescommissie) established on 27 March 2006 on the initiative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and now operating under the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). It advises the entire Dutch public sector on the adoption and use of open ICT standards, with formal authority anchored in the 'Pas toe of leg uit' (Comply or Explain) policy framework overseen by the Overheidsbreed Beleidsoverleg Digitale Overheid (OBDO). Its core products are two curated lists — a mandatory list of 44 open standards and a recommended list of 68+ — supplemented by the Beslisboom Open Standaarden decision tree, the annual Monitor Open Standaarden compliance research, the semi-annual Meting Informatieveiligheidstandaarden, and the Forum Standaardisatie Kennismodel (FSKM) for publishing the standards list as linked open data via NORA Online. A 22+ member Forum of experts from government, business, and academia conducts assessments, supported by the Bureau Forum Standaardisatie (BFS), a secretariat of approximately 14 staff housed at Logius.

The organization generates no commercial revenue; its operating model is government-funded appropriations through BZK. Distribution is via direct advisory services, a public web portal (forumstandaardisatie.nl), free printed publications, GitHub, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon (social.overheid.nl), and annual events. Strategic partnerships extend its reach: Platform Internetstandaarden for the Internet.nl compliance tool, NORA Online for linked-data publication, the European MSP for EU standardization input, and the ~39-organization Mastodon Overheid consortium. Select customer evidence (Provincie Zeeland, Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat, Belastingdienst) demonstrates adoption in ICT procurement, security compliance, and open communication pilots. Operating geographies are the Netherlands, with European-level influence rather than cross-border service delivery.

Name

ForumStandaardisatie

Legal name

Forum Standaardisatie

Website

https://forumstandaardisatie.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forum Standaardisatie is the Dutch government's advisory body that curates mandatory and recommended open ICT standards, monitors compliance, and publishes linked data to drive interoperability across the Dutch public sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government IT Standards Advisory

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

International Standards Development & Standardization Bodies (BPADANAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Open ICT standards
• Government digital standards
• Public sector interoperability
• Standardization advisory body
• E-government compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Den Haag

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Forum Standaardisatie is a government advisory committee supported by the Bureau Forum Standaardisatie (BFS), which is housed at Logius, the digital government service of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). The organization does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Forum Standaardisatie is a Dutch government advisory committee that maintains and promotes open ICT standards for the public sector. Its core offering consists of the mandatory 'Pas toe of leg uit' (Comply or Explain) list of open standards and a list of recommended standards, supplemented by decision-support tools (Beslisboom), monitoring services (Monitor Open Standaarden and Meting Informatieveiligheidstandaarden), and linked open data publications for reuse across government systems.

Product overview

Forum Standaardisatie is a Dutch government advisory body that facilitates digital cooperation and interoperability through the promotion and management of open ICT standards for the public sector. Its core offering consists of two official lists of open standards: the mandatory 'Pas toe of leg uit' list (which public sector organizations must apply in procurement and operations) and the list of recommended standards. The organization provides decision-support tools including the Beslisboom Open Standaarden, an interactive tool to identify relevant standards for specific ICT projects. Forum Standaardisatie also operates monitoring services (Monitor Open Standaarden and Meting Informatieveiligheidstandaarden) that track adoption of standards across government organizations. Additionally, it publishes its standards data as linked open data for reuse through SPARQL endpoints and provides self-assessment tools like Internet.nl for testing website compliance. The organization itself does not develop or sell software products but serves as the governing body for open standards policy in the Netherlands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lijst open standaarden (Pas toe of leg uit-lijst) The mandatory 'Pas toe of leg uit' list containing open ICT standards that Dutch public sector organizations must apply in their procurement and operations. Currently includes 44 standards with mandatory status.
• Lijst Aanbevolen standaarden

Quantifiable outcome

• Free publications and guidance documents available to all public sector organizations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties (BZK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023BZK initiated the Mastodon Overheid pilot (social.overheid.nl) in July 2023, establishing a government server on Mastodon for public sector open communication. Forum Standaardisatie participates as one of the first government organizations.
• Mastodon Overheid Consortium (~39 organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023Group of ~39 government organizations participating in the Mastodon Overheid pilot on social.overheid.nl, using the ActivityPub open standard for decentralized social media. Includes Belastingdienst, various ministries, provinces, and municipalities.
• LogiuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogius, the digital government service of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), hosts the Bureau Forum Standaardisatie (BFS). This is the core operational partnership providing administrative and organizational support to Forum Standaardisatie.
• Platform InternetstandaardencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForum Standaardisatie is co-founder and member of the Platform Internetstandaarden. Together they promote adoption of Internet standards that combat email and website fraud. The platform developed Internet.nl testing tool.
• NORA OnlinecoreTechnology or IntegrationCooperation with NORA online for publishing the list of open standards as linked open data using the Forum Standaardisatie Kennismodel (FSKM). Enables data reuse on platforms like Wikidata, GEMMA Softwarecatalogus, SURF Standaarden, and data.overheid.nl.
• European Multi-Stakeholder Platform on ICT Standardisation (MSP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForum Standaardisatie represents the Dutch government in the MSP, which advises the European Commission on ICT standardization. Contributes to the Rolling Plan for ICT Standardisation.
• European Commission ISA² ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerForum Standaardisatie follows and contributes to ISA² (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations), supporting cross-border digital services in Europe. Netherlands Ministry of BZK is policy responsible.
• IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)coreTechnology or IntegrationInternet Engineering Task Force - key standards body for internet protocols and standards. Many 'Pas toe of leg uit' standards originate from IETF (TLS, HTTP, SMTP, SPF, DKIM, DNSSEC, etc.).
• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)coreTechnology or IntegrationWeb standards organization responsible for standards like HTML, XML, RDF, SKOS, and accessibility guidelines included in Forum Standaardisatie lists.
• OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards)coreTechnology or IntegrationInternational standards body for information standards. OASIS produces standards on Forum Standaardisatie lists including SAML, ODF, CMIS, STIX/TAXII, and OpenAPI.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AFNOR: French national standards body coordinating standardization for industry and public sector. Comparable as a European peer with a national mandate on standards, larger and broader than Forum Standaardisatie.
• DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung): German national standards body and ISO/CEN member. Comparable as a European peer operating a national standards framework with government engagement, broader in scope than Forum Standaardisatie's ICT-only focus.
• BSI (British Standards Institution): UK national standards body covering broad industry and government standards. Comparable as a larger national peer operating a standards catalogue and assessment program, though not government-mandated in the same way as Forum Standaardisatie.

Others

• ISA² Programme (European Commission): EU program supporting cross-border interoperability solutions, in which Forum Standaardisatie participates. Comparable as a peer funder and standards harmonization actor in the same ecosystem of public-sector digital interoperability.

Direct peers

• CEN-CENELEC: European standards bodies whose standards can be mandated via EU regulation and which Forum Standaardisatie tracks through JTC 25. Comparable as a supranational peer influencing Forum Standaardisatie's standards lists.
• NORA Online: Dutch government reference architecture for interoperability, with which Forum Standaardisatie jointly publishes its standards list as linked data. Comparable as a sibling government body shaping how Dutch public sector systems interoperate.
• NEN (Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute): NEN is the Dutch member of ISO and CEN and operates the broader national standards system. It is comparable to Forum Standaardisatie as the parallel domestic standards body, with Forum focusing on open ICT standards for government and NEN covering broader industry and technical standards.
• ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute): European standards body whose accessibility (EN 301 549) and electronic signature standards appear on Forum Standaardisatie's lists. Comparable as an upstream international standards producer that Forum Standaardisatie evaluates for inclusion.
• Logius: Logius is the Dutch Ministry of BZK's digital government service that hosts Bureau Forum Standaardisatie. Comparable as the parent operational organization providing shared government digital infrastructure (DigiD, MijnOverheid, e-Overheid).
• Platform Internetstandaarden: Co-founded partner that promotes adoption of internet standards and operates the Internet.nl compliance testing tool. Directly comparable as a Dutch public-sector standards promotion body with overlapping mandate on internet and security standards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/forumstandaardisatie
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQcWtUxh8IYQ7cwkYfeLNWw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forum-standaardisatie

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ForumStandaardisatie