The Hague · Belgian · International
Innovation strategy and financing for justice, security, peace and governance.
I’m Wilfried. I help public and private partners make transitions, invest together, and use AI wisely along the way. Over twenty years across law, economics, impact investing and innovation.
Civil servant · Advisor · Creator
Where worlds meet
- PublicPrivate
- LocalInternational
- Bottom-upTop-down
- FuturePresent
About
Building the conditions for collaboration that holds.
I am a Senior Advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security. My background combines law, economics, impact investing and innovation, with 20+ years in international advisory, entrepreneurial and managerial roles.
I am fascinated by how people and institutions decide and invest together — and how they can do so wisely as AI becomes part of the room. Alongside this, I make things: words, music, websites and innovation ecosystems.
Why
A bridge, for the sake of learning.
Public & private
Public purpose and private initiative each carry knowledge the other needs; bringing them together turns shared ambition into shared investment.
Local & international
Hubs in six markets — from the Netherlands and Ukraine to Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda — taught me that the best ideas travel when they stay rooted in local reality.
Bottom-up & top-down
Practitioners show what works on the ground; institutions make it last. Change grows strongest when both learn from each other.
The world of the future & the here and now
Foresight opens the horizon; daily practice keeps it honest. Moving between them makes transitions both ambitious and achievable.
Work
Where I contribute
Ministry of Justice and Security
Senior Advisor Innovation Strategy. I lead innovation strategy, financing and market engagement, develop concrete public–private partnerships, and orchestrate coalitions in automation, AI, data exchange and tackling crime.
Foresight-Transitions
Advice and interim management, with methods in foresight, transition, collaboration and joint investment — helping practitioners and entrepreneurs act with clarity on long horizons.
Humanity Solutions
Building things that can help move humanity peacefully forward.
Creative work
Words, music, websites and innovation ecosystems — craft as a way of thinking.
Record
Results that matter
- €300M+ Growth Fund investment programmes developed, 2020–2022.
- 56% CAGR growing HiiL’s global justice accelerator.
- 40+ startups and innovators advised.
- Built and scaled the HiiL justice accelerator to six global hubs, securing €12M in additional investment.
- Designed and delivered 20+ flagship innovation events and challenges, engaging 1M+ people worldwide.
- As interim manager and advisor via Foresight-Transitions, led the development of €300M+ Growth Fund investment programmes and directed the INNOvember innovation festival: 10K+ participants, 98 organisations.
- Co-created platforms for living wages (ACT on living wages), wildlife justice (Wildlife Justice Commission) and EU-level digital infrastructures.
- Delivered 11 high-profile European and international projects, including border control strategy and migration platforms.
Path
Experience
- 2023 – nowSenior Advisor Innovation StrategyMinistry of Justice and Security, The Netherlands
- 2020 – 2022Interim Manager & AdvisorForesight-Transitions — public-sector Growth Fund investment programmes, INNOvember
- 2019 – 2020Senior Innovation ConsultantInnovation strategy in banking, investment and customer insight
- 2013 – 2018Director, HiiL Justice AcceleratorOperations in six markets
- 2008 – 2013Independent Advisor, Founder Aspirationplatform, President EffectiusProgramme management, platforms and partnerships in justice, governance and collaboration
- 2005 – 2008ConsultantStrategy, IT and legal consultancy
- FounderHumanity Solutions · Foresight-TransitionsBuilding things that can help move humanity peacefully forward · Advice and interim management
Education
Executive Master in Innovation & Entrepreneurship — Vlerick Business School
Master in International Management & Economics — Humboldt University & Panthéon-Assas University
Master in Law — KU Leuven
Expertise
Innovation & partnership development · Public–private partnerships · Impact investing · Strategy · Feasibility & impact assessment · Coalition building · Interim & portfolio management · Team coaching
Languages
Dutch (native) · English (fluent) · French · German · Spanish · Albanian (basic)
Integrity
Integrity, made transparent
Holding several roles only works when the lines between them are visible. As a rijksambtenaar (Dutch central-government civil servant) I am bound by the Ambtenarenwet 2017 and the Gedragscode Integriteit Rijk.
I practise what I advise. The methods I share — for collaboration, foresight, transitions, joint investment and AI — are also applied in my own work and ventures, and I keep studying and testing them.
What I do
- Serve the public first.My primary role is Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Justice and Security. I am bound by the oath or affirmation (ambtseed of -belofte) every civil servant takes, and act as a good civil servant should.
- Keep confidential what is confidential.What I learn through my public role stays there, also after I leave it.
- Speak in a personal capacity.Views on this site and in my private work are my own, not the ministry’s. Where my public role calls for restraint, I show it.
- Name conflicts early.Potential conflicts of interest, and even the appearance of one, are declared. When in doubt, I step back.
Gedragscode Integriteit Rijk
What I don’t do
- No paid work for governments.Not for other governments or governmental buyers — ministries, municipalities, agencies or water boards — and no part in public tenders or supplies.
Goes further than the law - No paid work in justice and security.That expertise serves the public through my ministry role.
Goes further than the law - No private gain from public access.I never use non-public information or ministry networks for private benefit.
Gedragscode Integriteit Rijk - No conflicting financial interests.As an investor, I hold no financial interests that could affect how I do my public job.
- No gifts or favours.I don’t ask for or accept gifts, fees or favours from parties I deal with as a civil servant, unless my employer has approved it.
- No commercial pitching.I do not pitch commercially to counterparts of the ministry.
See a possible conflict?
Tell me. I would rather hear it early.
Based on the Ambtenarenwet 2017 and the Gedragscode Integriteit Rijk. Private engagements also follow the Integrity & Data Protection Principles of Humanity Solutions. Updated October 2026.
Contact
Let’s talk.
Questions about my ministry role go through the Ministry of Justice and Security, not this site.