Samen voor Someren

Context

Stichting Samen voor Someren was the local Social Domain Advisory Council of the municipality of Someren. The foundation advised the municipal executive on the Social Support Act, Youth Act, Participation Act and adjacent policy areas.

The work of local advisory councils became increasingly difficult as much policy was no longer developed locally but regionally, within the Joint Regulation Peelgemeenten. Local councils had no clear formal position there. This created tension: residents and local councils were expected to think along, while important choices were prepared elsewhere.

What I did

I became chair of Samen voor Someren in November 2024, after previously serving as a board member. In a short time I took on multiple roles: chair, acting secretary, primary contact toward the municipality, representative in regional advisory-council meetings and in the Regional Client Council for the Participation Act, administrator of bookkeeping, banking, website and formal documents, and later liquidator after the decision to dissolve.

Governance contribution

I sharpened the focus on mandate and feedback. Not only: what may we advise on? But also: when are we involved, what information do we receive, who responds to our advice, and what happens to points that are not adopted?

Dissolution as a governance conclusion

Samen voor Someren did not stop because the subject was unimportant, but because the preconditions were missing. Without a clear mandate, structural involvement and open feedback the work became too non-committal.

The foundation ended its formal role as participation partner on 1 November 2025, with a transition period until 31 December 2025 for handover and closure. I formulated the closure factually and carefully: not an attack on persons, but a conclusion about the structure. I handled the press release, communication with the executive and network partners, Chamber of Commerce filings, liquidation, final accounts and retention duty.

Result

The dissolution made visible that the problem was not only local. The participation process around Household Support became a concrete example: tasks and decisions shift regionally while participation and democratic accountability often remain organised locally.

The press release about the closure is available on the Samen voor Someren website, in Dutch: Stichting Samen voor Someren stopt haar werkzaamheden.

What this case shows

What this case shows: an advisory council that cannot secure its preconditions helps no one by continuing symbolically. Stopping can itself be a governance conclusion, provided it is carefully wound up.