According to platform ScienceGuide, Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) want an exemption from the WOO. This would be evident from a summary memo from Leiden University’s Executive Board to the participation body: “UNL’s primary aim is to create an exceptional position in the WOO for public universities as well,” it states.

That is not correct, says Caspar van den Berg, president of umbrella organization UNL (Universities of the Netherlands). He does not know why the Leiden Executive Board phrased it that way.

So you do not want an exemption?

“Universities strongly support transparency. Openness is a public good and simply part of publicly funded institutions. We have never argued for an exemption. What is causing problems are the sharply rising costs associated with the WOO. These efforts come at the expense of our education and research. That is why we are asking the national government for compensation.”

Why should a university receive compensation for openness?

“Municipalities receive it too. They said: handling a WOO request is mandatory, we have no influence over the number of requests, and the costs are substantial. Those are sound arguments, and they apply to universities as well. So we are not asking for ‘less transparency,’ but we are saying: for universities, the costs have now become disproportionate, and there should be funding to match.”

Are there really that many requests?

“The number is increasing. In a sample, we saw a threefold increase in requests since 2022. In addition, the complexity of the questions is growing, which puts more pressure on legal departments. Sometimes it involves hundreds of staff hours per request per institution. In some cases, universities have to hire external help. It crowds out other work, and that is problematic.”

You use words like ‘problematic’ and ‘disproportionate’ only if you attach little value to it, right?

“No, that is not how we see it. Transparency is not the issue. What is, is the unpaid bill that comes with it. Our core tasks are education, research, and having impact on society. Of course we want to comply with the WOO, but in our view that should not come at the expense of those core tasks. Again, municipalities have made exactly the same point.”

What makes a request complex?

“Sometimes the question itself sounds simple, for example a request about ties with the fossil fuel industry. The question is legitimate; no one is judging that. But it involves a great deal of work. Universities are often organized in a decentralized way, with many departments, groups, and institutes. We then have to search for that information in every corner of the university. That is also a difference with municipalities: they are used to making all kinds of decisions, for example about permits, with appeal and objection procedures. They have a completely different information infrastructure. For universities, it can take some adjusting.”

The incoming governing party CDA calls the WOO a thorn in the side and speaks of legislation that has gone too far. Do you agree?

“That is difficult for me to say. There will soon be an evaluation of the law, so let’s wait for that. What you do hear—though this is anecdotal—is that the WOO is sometimes abused in labor disputes or by people seeking penalty payments. But that does not occur at universities.”

Three ‘special’ universities (Nijmegen, Tilburg, and VU Amsterdam) already do not fall under the WOO. The same applies to virtually all universities of applied sciences.

“That distinction is not of our making, but the legislator’s. By the way, it does not mean that those three universities are less transparent. You can also be transparent without a legal obligation.”

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor