Startup in Residence Intergov (SiR Intergov)

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A Dutch national challenge-based public procurement programme that connects innovative startups and scale-ups with government bodies to co-develop solutions to complex public problems through a structured four-to-six month co-creation proce
What are the main aims and objectives?

The Startup in Residence Intergov (SiR Intergov) programme aims to solve urgent public sector challenges for which no ready-made commercial solution exists, by sourcing and co-creating innovative approaches with startups and scale-ups rather than relying on traditional procurement routes. The programme has three interconnected objectives. First, it seeks to give startups access to real government contracts — not just grants — creating a structured and commercially meaningful pathway into the public sector market. Second, it aims to transform the working culture of participating civil servants by training them to work in short development cycles, adopt a "can-do" attitude, and tolerate productive risk. Third, it explicitly tries to reduce the procedural and bureaucratic complexity that has historically discouraged small and innovative companies from engaging with government as a customer. SiR Intergov operates on the principle that procurement should function as a mechanism for scaling innovation, not merely a one-time transactional endpoint. The programme's founding philosophy, as articulated by Programme Manager Hessel van Oorschot, holds that government bodies should stop specifying predetermined solutions and instead describe their problems clearly — leaving solution design to the entrepreneurs.

How does the program work?

SiR Intergov operates through a five-stage challenge-based co-creation process, administered jointly by a consortium of government partner bodies.

Stage 1 – Challenge Definition. A participating government body identifies a real societal problem it cannot solve with existing commercial solutions. The programme team supports the body in compressing its problem statement to two to three pages — a deliberate departure from the 20-page specifications typical of traditional government procurement. A key internal test applied by the programme is whether the problem would be considered genuine and meaningful by a member of the public.​

Stage 2 – Market Research and Publication. Before publishing the challenge, the programme team conducts market research to verify that no off-the-shelf solution already exists. If one does exist, the challenge is not published. Once validated, the challenge is made public and open to applications from startups and scale-ups across the Netherlands.

Stage 3 – Application and Selection. Interested startups submit their proposed approach in a maximum of two A4 pages via the programme's digital platform. The three strongest candidates per challenge are invited to pitch in full. A winner is selected per challenge and invited to enter the residence programme.​

Stage 4 – Residence (Co-Creation). The selected startup works alongside the relevant government partner for four to six months to develop a working prototype. During this period, participants receive up to €25,000 (approximately $27,500 USD) in innovation funding, alongside access to coaching sessions, workshops, procurement and legal guidance, and the programme's government network. Crucially, the government partner provides access to real data, civil servants, and end users — making this a genuine partnership rather than a desk exercise.

Stage 5 – Scale-Up. Following a successful pilot, the programme actively explores follow-up contracting options. These can include direct procurement under Dutch law, innovation partnerships, or consortium formation across multiple government bodies or regions. The programme treats this stage as the true measure of success: scaling a proven solution across government is the end goal, not the pilot itself.

Eligibility is open to any startup or scale-up with a credible approach to the published challenge. There is no sector restriction, though challenges are tailored to the specific operational needs of the participating government body.

What is the overall cost?

The total operational budget for running SiR Intergov has not been publicly disclosed. The programme is co-funded by its eight partner government bodies, which currently include the Ministries of Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), Justice and Security (J&V), and Agriculture (LVVN), the Province of Zuid-Holland, and the Municipality of The Hague.

How was it implemented?

SiR Intergov originated in procurement practice and grew incrementally from a regional initiative into a national programme. It began as a collaboration among six government bodies in the Province of Zuid-Holland before expanding to include national ministries.​

The programme was designed and championed by Hessel van Oorschot, who serves as Programme Manager. Van Oorschot built the programme around the principle that governments should communicate problems, not solutions — and that simplifying the entry process for startups was as important as the co-creation methodology itself.​

In 2021, the Dutch national government published the Eindrapportage toekomst SiR Intergov (Final Report on the Future of SiR Intergov), a 35-page report examining the programme's organisational structure and setting out a roadmap for national expansion. This report formalised the transition from a regional to a national programme and provided the institutional foundation for bringing in additional ministry partners.​

Key milestones:

  • Pre-2021: Programme operates as a regional initiative across six Zuid-Holland government bodies​
  • 2021: Eindrapportage published; programme formally expanded to national level with new ministry partners​
  • 2023 onwards: Province of Noord-Brabant, Province of Limburg, and Rijkswaterstaat join as partners, expanding the programme's geographic and sectoral scope​
  • March 2025: Lord David Willetts — [Note: this detail belongs to the UK's RIO, not SiR Intergov] — SiR Intergov appoints external Chair to provide strategic oversight; external Chair details not confirmed in public sources​
  • November 2025: SiR Intergov wins the "Improving Business Environment and Promoting Entrepreneurial Spirit" award at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) in Copenhagen

The programme recently published a SiR Intergov Innovation Playbook, designed to help other countries and regions replicate the model. This was described by Van Oorschot as "a gift to Europe".

What impact has been measured?

SiR Intergov's results, reported cumulatively since inception and cited in the programme's own documentation and the 2025 EEPA award submission, include the following:

  • More than 150 challenges published across all government partner bodies​
  • Over 1,700 startup applications received​
  • 170 startups have completed the residence programme​
  • 35% of completed pilots result in a sustainable follow-up contract or assignment with the government — a figure the programme cites as its primary success metric
  • More than 100 societal problems have been addressed through completed programme collaborations
What lessons can be learned?
  • Budget vulnerability is the programme's most immediate structural risk. The Dutch government is currently targeting 22% cuts to ministry innovation budgets. Van Oorschot has explicitly warned of "a worrying tendency for public organisations to revert to familiar, risk-averse approaches" under financial pressure. The programme's continuity is tied directly to the political will of its eight co-funding partners — any one of which could withdraw.​
  • The 35% follow-up rate, while celebrated, means 65% of participating startups do not win a contract. For a programme that positions public procurement — rather than grants — as its core offer, this is a significant outcome gap that is not prominently addressed in programme communications.
  • Challenge quality is inconsistent. Several challenges have been published without sufficient prior market research, resulting in situations where a commercial solution already existed — wasting time for both the startup applicants and the government body. The programme has acknowledged this and requires market validation before publication, but the problem has not been fully resolved.​
  • Scaling beyond pilot remains difficult. Despite the programme's explicit focus on post-pilot contracting pathways, the mechanics of scaling a proven solution across multiple government bodies involve significant procurement, legal, and political coordination. The 35% follow-up figure does not distinguish between one-off contracts and solutions that have genuinely scaled system-wide.
  • The programme's simplicity is both its strength and its limitation. Compressing challenge briefs to two to three pages and startup applications to two A4 pages reduces barriers to entry — but may also limit the depth of solution scoping in technically complex domains.
  • The Innovation Playbook marks an important shift toward replication. The decision to publish a replication guide positions SiR Intergov as a model for export. However, the programme's success has depended heavily on the culture and leadership of a small team. Whether the methodology can be replicated without that contextual expertise remains untested.

CURATED BY

Tom Hancock

Research Associate
Global Entrepreneurship Network
United Kingdom