The RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS), oversees the national breast cancer screening program and is responsible for its coordination. For over 30 years, screening has been conducted through mobile units traveling across the country, providing women with easy access to examinations near their homes. However, as much as the screening process has remained largely unchanged over the years, numerous societal and technological developments, particularly in medical diagnostics and healthcare staffing, are transforming the landscape. In response to these challenges, the RIVM asked Jester Strategy to assist in future-proofing the program by considering potential changes in the coming years.
Together with the RIVM and external stakeholders, Jester Strategy facilitated a scenario planning process. This structured approach allowed the team to consider emerging trends and developments by exploring four distinct future scenarios. At each step of the process, a core group from the RIVM was involved, along with a broad range of stakeholders from hospitals, the KWF (Dutch Cancer Society), the Ministry of VWS, and those responsible for the screening implementation.
Given the large number of stakeholders involved and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented in-person gatherings, Jester Strategy utilized its online platform, ‘Social Scenario Planning’. On this platform, participants can brainstorm together, contribute trends, respond to each other’s ideas, and provide input on the scenarios. The scenarios were discussed with all involved stakeholders, with a focus on identifying potential actions to make the breast cancer screening program more future-proof.
“The team at Jester Strategy guided us through a very structured yet highly creative process. They kept us on track and made this complex methodology accessible to everyone involved.”
“The online platform provided by Jester Strategy was instrumental in facilitating collaboration with a large group of stakeholders who, even without COVID-19 restrictions, we could never have brought together in one room on the same day. As a result, the scenarios became much richer.”
Jos van Sonderen, RIVM
