A breakdown in government-society trust: The Dutch childcare benefits scandal
The Dutch toeslagenaffaire, also known as the Dutch Childcare Benefits Scandal, serves as a stark example of a government-society relationship gone awry. From 2005 to 2019, an estimated 26,000 parents were erroneously accused of fraudulent benefit claims, leading to severe financial hardship for families. This has caused significant damage to public trust in the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst), particularly among those discriminated against by selective policies.

Rebuilding trust through societal connection and fair and respectful policy implementation
In order to restore public trust, the Belastingdienst has to connect with, and truly understand the needs and sentiments of society. This project aims to enhance the Belastingdienst's social embedding by:

• Investigating how societal connection can be reimagined and improved
• Understanding societal needs to formulate and implement policies that are not only fair but also respectful of citizens’ rights

In accomplishing these objectives, we aim to bolster the social embedding of the Belastingdienst, thereby facilitating the restoration of public trust and the overall enhancement of the organisation’s functionality.

Leveraging multi-method analysis to capture Belastingdienst’s perceptions of social embedding and public perceptions
The Athena Institute will conduct qualitative social analyses through interviews. In collaboration with Frank Kupper for theatre dialogues, and partners at the University of Utrecht for AI-based natural language processing of social media sites such as Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter), we aim to better understand how people talk about the Belastingdienst online and which topics they engage in.