Promises vs. actions: why IO+ investigated innovation in politics
In this article, we explain how IO+ researched how parties voted during the last legislative period.
Published on September 30, 2025
Our DATA+ expert, Elcke Vels, explores AI, cyber security, and Dutch innovation. Her "What if..." column imagines bold scenarios beyond the norm.
On October 29, the Netherlands will go to the polls for the House of Representatives elections. Slogans and promises are flying around again. But what will actually come of those promises? In this article, we explain why and how IO+ investigated how parties voted on innovation during the last term of office. The Dutch people's confidence in politics is at an all-time low: only 4%. That is precisely why it is important to look at concrete results.
Anyone looking at the Dutch election programs will see a jumble of topics that the parties believe deserve attention. One party focuses on climate policy, another on a strict asylum policy. Plans and promises often sound convincing, but they do not always become reality. Research shows that approximately 60% of the promises made by Dutch coalition parties are ultimately translated into policy.
Election programs offer no guarantees, while voters need something to hold on to—especially now that Dutch confidence in politics is at an all-time low. That is why we conducted this research, with innovation as our starting point: an important overarching theme that runs through the major transitions our society is currently facing, from the medical sector to energy.
Analyzing 6,448 votes
At IO+, we developed an analysis tool that classified 6,448 amendments, bills, and changes from the previous term of office (July 2, 2024 - June 3, 2025) as innovative or not.
The 6,448 items that were classified as innovative were then manually checked by the team. Ultimately, 582 items remained that counted towards the innovation score.
Checking the documents remains partly subjective. We classified votes as pro-innovative when they supported policies or measures that actually promote new technologies, sustainable solutions, or the conditions for innovation.
An example of a vote that we classified as positively innovative in the climate and sustainability category:
An example of a vote that we classified as negatively innovative in the climate and sustainability category:
Motion by Member Eerdmans to abandon the goal of being completely gas-free by 2050
Pro-innovation score
A pro-innovation score was calculated for each political group by weighing the votes and the sentiment (positive/negative/neutral) against each other. We also assigned a score to various subcategories of innovation: climate and sustainability, innovation in healthcare and agriculture, data, and community.
Results: Volt in the lead
The results are presented in the story below. A preview of the overall innovation score: Our research shows that Volt votes most innovatively, with a score of 80.7%. GroenLinks-PvdA is in second place with 79.2%, while the PVV (34.6%) and Forum voor Democratie (FvD, 35.4%) score lowest.
