People

Jorrit de Jong (Editor/USA) Jorrit de Jong is a Research Fellow at the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. His research, teaching and consultancy work focus on innovations in governance. Jorrit is the former Director of the Centre for Government Studies, at Leiden University. He is co-founder of the Kafka Brigade, an action research team investigating excessive bureaucracy. He served as a special adviser on the Dutch Ministerial Committee on Public Sector Reform. A specialist in simulation games, Jorrit has taught in many (international) executive education programs. Two books on improving access to public services, co- authored and co-edited with Gowher Rizvi will be published in 2008. Another volume, on transforming principles in government innovation is forthcoming. Email: jorrit_dejong@harvard.edu

Gowher Rizvi (Editor/USA) Gowher Rizvi is vice provost for international programs at the University of Virginia and professor at the McIntire School of Commerce. From 2002 to 2008, he was director of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Previously to that, he was the Ford Foundation's Representative in New Delhi, having served as the Foundation's Deputy Director for Governance and Civil Society, as a program officer in the Foundation's Asia division, and as the Asia Society's director of contemporary affairs. Gowher Rizvi came to the Ford and Asia foundations from Oxford University where he held several positions. The founder and editor of Contemporary South Asia, an academic and policy studies journal, Rizvi is the author or editor of several books including South Asia in a Changing International Order, South Asian Insecurity and the Great Powers (co-author with Barry Buzan), Perspectives on Imperialism and Decolonization (co-editor with Robert Holland), Indo-British Relations in Retrospect (co-editor with Anthony Copley), and Beyond Boundaries (co-editor with Paul Evans and Navneeta Chaddha Behera). He was a Rhodes Scholar and received his D.Phil. from Trinity College, University of Oxford. E-mail: gowher_rizvi@virginia.edu

Peter Kasbergen (Assistant Editor/The Netherlands) Peter Kasbergen holds BA's in Public Administration and Political Science from Leiden University and is currently a MA Student in Public Administration and Organizational Science at Utrecht University. He is a research assistant with the Improving Access project. E-mail: peter_kasbergen@hotmail.com

Anja van der Wal (South Asia) Anja van der Wal was Senior Program Manager at the Centre for Government Studies (CGS) at Leiden University. Before she joined the CGS she worked as project manager and policy maker with the Police Force Amsterdam, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Haarlem and the Ministry of Justice in The Hague. Anja has vast experience in implementing programs and projects in complex administrative environments. In all positions she held, she has been driven by a genuine desire to make a change for the less privileged. As of 2008, she is continuing her career in South Asia. Anja studied Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam.

Albert Jan Kruiter (South Asia) Albert-Jan Kruiter studied Public Administration at Leiden University. He was senior consultant at the Centre for Government Studies (CGS) at Leiden University. Before joining the CGS he worked for the Netherlands School of Public Administration where he developed several education programmes. The last years he has been consulting a variety of public sector organisations including ministries, NGO’s and local governments on innovation, evaluation and governance based issues. He published extensively on democracy in the network society, which is also the main focus of his dissertation research. From 2008 he continues his research in India.

Arre Zuurmond (The Netherlands) Arre Zuurmond is a Professor at the University of Delft, where he lectures on information and communication technologies (ICT) in public administration. His research interests include organizational development, the process of informatization, and evaluation of public service delivery. Professor Zuurmond has also published on organizational reform. He is one of the founders of the Kafkabrigade, a group of scientists, practitioners, and consultants who help citizens overcome bureaucratic deadlock. Before joining academia, Arre Zuurmond was Managing Director of an information technology firm. In 2000, he started a consultancy firm, Zenc. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication Technologies and has studied Public Administration in Amsterdam.

Joeri van den Steenhoven (The Netherlands) Joeri van den Steenhoven is chairman and co-founder of Knowledgeland (KL), an independent Dutch thinktank. With a team of about 15 people he develops strategies, projects and networks to make the Dutch society smarter. Since the start in 1999 Knowledgeland has contributed strongly to the public debate on innovation in the Netherlands. Most often by providing sharp analyses and translating them into strategies and projects. Joeri regularly writes, speaks, advises and teaches on subjects related to knowledge, technology, innovation and society. Amongst others, he was co-author of the Knowledge Economy Monitor. With KL he has developed and managed numerous innovation projects. Joeri is also member of the Board of Directors of the European thinktank Lisbon Council in Brussels, Belgium.

Lobke van der Meulen (The Netherlands) Lobke van der Meulen works for the independent Dutch thinktank Knowledgeland as consultant and researcher, on the theme 'Smart Government'. Currently, her main project is the Kafkabrigade: a research and intervention method to deal with unnecessary bureaucracy. Lobke was involved from the start, helped developing the project and is now coordinator of the Kafkabrigade. Lobke studied Public Administration at Leiden University and European Studies and German Language at the University of Amsterdam.