This free tool gives public organizations a structured way to assess the digital autonomy of their primary processes and identify concrete steps to strengthen it. The Maturity Model was developed in close collaboration with our AMS Prototyping Team, drawing on interviews with academic and practice experts, a literature review, and multiple pilot studies at public organizations.
Recent geopolitical developments have sharpened awareness around digital autonomy. Governments across Europe are waking up to the risks of depending on technology they don't control. At the same time, there is still significant uncertainty about what concrete steps public organizations can take to increase it. Both in theory and in practice, there is a gap that needs to be filled. That’s where the Digital Autonomy Competence Center (DACC) comes in – a collaboration of AMS Institute, VNG, Digicampus, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, TU Delft, De Digitale Doetank, and the Municipality of Amsterdam. Its mission is to help public organizations increase their digital independence through tools grounded in both academic research and practical experience.
The DACC identifies the problems organizations share and develops scientifically based tools to address them, showing what really works toward digital autonomy and what may be counterproductive. The DACC will be the starting point for every public organization seeking to become less dependent on ‘Big Tech’ and to find and share solutions and alternatives. A key concern for the DACC is 'autonomy washing'; market players may claim their solution is the most autonomous, and governments themselves can engage in autonomy washing by presenting a partial picture as a complete solution. The DACC's academic grounding, through partners including TU Delft professors of GovTech and ICT & Governance, is intended to provide the critical capacity to call this out.
What is digital autonomy?
Digital autonomy refers to a government organization's ability to act independently and make its own decisions about digital technology, even when external parties or systems are involved. This includes being able to switch suppliers, maintaining sufficient internal knowledge, and consciously managing strategic dependencies. It applies to core public tasks such as permit issuance, traffic management, youth care, and data services: how well are these protected against lock-in, unwanted dependencies, and knowledge gaps?
What the Maturity Model offers
The Digital Autonomy Maturity Model is a self-assessment tool that any public organization can use independently. It provides a structured questionnaire that focuses on your organization's core processes. This assessment looks at the complete picture of how reliant these processes are on technology that you may not fully control, rather than just examining your software stack or vendor contracts in isolation. Consider aspects like permit issuance, youth care, traffic management, and budget administration. How well are those processes protected against lock-in, unwanted dependencies, and knowledge gaps? Do you possess the internal expertise to make independent decisions? Would you be able to switch suppliers if necessary?
The model generates a score across three domains: Strategy & Operations, Technology, and Supplier Management. For each domain, the model produces concrete recommendations and a detailed overview of improvement points — showing exactly what it would take to move to the next maturity level. The output isn't a verdict, it's a starting point. As Ellen Mok of the Digitale Doetank put it at the model's launch at the Unconference on 29 May: "With this model, you assess the digital sovereignty of your core activities yourself, whenever and as often as you want. No consultant dropping by once a year. The model translates a complex topic into understandable questions. You don't get a final verdict, but a starting point: you define your own to-do list and decide where you want to grow."
How and for whom it was developed
The Maturity Model was developed by the DACC in close collaboration with the Prototyping Team at AMS Institute, drawing on interviews with academic and practice experts, a literature review, and multiple pilot studies at public organizations. The model aligns with the definition of digital autonomy set out in the Dutch Government's Vision on Digital Autonomy and Sovereignty (Ministry of the Interior, June 2025). The result is a tool that doesn't just reflect research; it has been tested and refined in real organizational contexts.
The model is aimed at CIOs, CTOs, operational managers, procurement professionals, and policy staff at public and government organizations who want to get a grip on digital autonomy. It applies to a wide range of processes, from waste collection and permit issuance to youth care and budget management.
The DACC model is related to initiatives that include the EU's SEAL levels for cloud sovereignty, the Gartner/Venlo Sovereignty Scan, the DAAF framework from Utrecht University, and the Digital Sovereignty Score developed in Munich.
“The model translates a complex topic into understandable questions. You don't get a final verdict, but a starting point: you define your own to-do list and decide where you want to grow.”
Ellen Mok (Digitale Doetank)
Access and privacy
The model is freely available at volwassenheidsmodel.digitaal-autonoom.nl. Create an account. You can then complete the self-assessment questionnaire (in Dutch) for your organization's primary processes to receive personalized results and tailored recommendations. Results are personal and not visible to third parties. Organizations can choose whether to share their data for comparative research. Data is collected under a cooperation agreement between DACC partners (Ministry of the Interior, Amsterdam, AMS Institute, VNG, Digicampus, TU Delft).
