The meeting opened at 19:30 PM. 
The administrative secretary is welcomed by everyone after her absence due to her leave.

Decision:

Annemarieke is absent. There are no further announcements.

Decision:

We always meet on the second Thursday evening of the month. In 2024, Ascension Day falls on a meeting day. 

It was decided to postpone the meeting by one week. The new date would be May 16, 2024. The chair would be absent. Frank would then act as deputy chair.

Decision:

Fijnder works with the research agency Ausems en Kerkvliet (hereinafter: A&K). They can conduct medical capacity assessments for purposes such as assessing individual study grants. Some members find this approach distrustful. Fijnder awards based on trust. Isn't the information provided by a client already sufficient? Others indicate that an organization can operate on the basis of trust, but can also commission in-depth research.

It would be helpful if clients could choose their own research agency. That would promote independence. Other members indicate that it would then no longer be independent. The strategic policy advisor doesn't mention the "independence" of A&K anywhere in her response. The chairperson indicates that there is always some subjectivity in any research or assessment.

Hans van den Boor is curious about how many complaints have been filed against the results of a work capacity assessment. Has a second opinion ever been requested, and is it permissible to request a second opinion from a professional perspective? Fijnder and client?

Fijnder submits a research question to A&K. Is the client aware of the nature of the research question being submitted to A&K? Are there any objections to the client knowing this in advance? Others indicate that if the client knows this, they could, for example, anticipate it and thus manipulate the research. 

Other questions asked include:
- Can a client propose their own research agency and can you object to the chosen agency from Fijnder?
How long have they been using this research agency, and do they ever switch agencies?

It was decided to resubmit the aforementioned ambiguities/questions to the strategic policy advisor. Once we have answers, we can assess whether or not we wish to act on them. The chair will handle this.

Decision:

Sounding board group: 
They are still looking for clients for the advisory group. The consultants have been asked again to review their database for candidates. The members of the client council have suggested making this known on social media as well.

The website of Fijnder This information will also be updated again. This hadn't really been done for a year because there was no communications officer. All regulations per municipality will be listed on the website. 

In addition, the members suggested creating a folder for children turning 18. A lot changes at that age, and a folder would be a good way to keep track of everything. The municipality of Winterswijk is already doing this. 

Clients' travel expenses are not indexed annually, even though inflation does occur. If a client submits a request now, they will receive €0,21 per km. Hans Bussing of Fijnder it has been recommended that this be included in the regulation. 

Local Winterswijk:
Winterswijk is facing budget cuts. However, €50.000 has been allocated to the Winterswijk Poverty-Free Platform.

Decision:

We didn't receive the quarterly reports automatically. We have to request them every time. The policy officer has promised to send them to us automatically in the future. 

The following can be found on page 16 of the Q2 2023 quarterly report:
Below are overviews of expenses up to and including the second quarter of 2023 compared to expenses in 2022. Users will receive a reminder several times a year that they still have an outstanding balance.

The members disagree. You can now see your remaining budget in the participation app. A reminder was sent in 2022, but not in 2023. The administrative secretary will address this with the strategic policy advisor.

Decision:

The minutes of October 12, 2023, are approved with thanks to the secretary.

Decision:

There's one item on the action list. The chairperson has read in the Gelderlander newspaper that a study has been conducted in municipalities around Arnhem on the lack of use of facilities. The findings are generally known. For example, people are difficult to reach, taboo, etc. Saskia would like to receive the study from the chairperson.

Decision: 

Phaômé indicated that the library in Lichtenvoorde organised an information market. Fijnder was invited, but the client council of Fijnder No. That was a shame.

Hans van den Boor urges members to be more critical about which articles should be forwarded in the group chat. There are a lot of articles, and they're all very similar. It's important to determine whether the articles truly add value.

Gerda reports that the Social Support Act (Wmo) council in Winterswijk is struggling. For example, someone has resigned because they're on a different board. Now, members with no knowledge of the Wmo have joined. As a result, meetings only last half an hour and are less well-conducted.

Edison notes that there are different reimbursements per municipality for certain topics. Couldn't this be harmonized? The chair indicates that this is a recurring topic. Each municipality is autonomous and can decide independently how to structure this. We can request again that the reimbursements be harmonized.

Edison would like to meet the rest of the board. We met Ellen Dusseldorp in September. The chairperson indicated that we will schedule an informal meeting with the full board in January. 

We find that Fijnder has been around for about 1,5 years. We are curious how Fijnder functions, also with regard to cooperation with the various municipalities. It is still too early to evaluate this. The administrative secretary will monitor the cooperation between Fijnder and put the municipalities on the action list.

Decision:

The meeting closed at 20:57 p.m.