The staff unit CIO Office, Quality and Support (CKS) provides policy advice and establishes and enforces the information services policy. Through its Support Centre, the staff unit assists RIVM staff with questions and issues related to hardware (laptops, tablets, desktops, phones) and software. It also manages and improves quality and IT administration processes, particularly in the event of changes, outages (incidents) and other IT-related problems. Additionally, the staff unit protects RIVM against cyber attacks and offers risk management advice. Lastly, CKS monitors systems and intervenes when necessary (information security).

Head Yvonne van Opstal

Yvonne van Opstal studied Business Economics at the Royal Military Academy and subsequently worked for several years as an officer in various management positions within the Royal Netherlands Air Force. In addition to studying Business Administration at the Open University, she has completed several further education courses at Nyenrode Business University and elsewhere, including in Change Management, Digital Leadership, and Behavioural and Cultural Governance. Yvonne has a particular affinity for working for organizations that face significant changes. After her time with the Royal Netherlands Air Force, she held several roles with the municipality of Ede as a manager of operations and information services, as well as with a large educational foundation as a corporate controller/finance manager. She is driven by a wish to ensure that people perform to their best abilities and achieve excellent results.

The staff unit Application Services reuses, buys, develops, manages, tests, and monitors applications that enable employees, especially researchers, to collaborate effectively and make the desired impact on society. APD does this for the RIVM and the other knowledge institutes served by the SSC Campus Services. This includes generic applications, like MS Teams and Topdesk, as well as custom applications, for example, specifically for the laboratories (LIMS). By continuously analyzing applications individually and the application landscape as a whole, and monitoring health, safety, and accessibility, clients can be well advised on proactive LCM. The use of new technologies and the continuous pursuit of ‘compliance by design’ is crucial in this.

Head Chris ter Steege

Chris ter Steege studied Philosophy at the University of Utrecht, specializing in Practical Philosophy. In his final thesis he made a proposal for a more meaningful use of the concepts of 'customization' and 'citizen participation' in the social and political debate. During his studies, he worked as a counselor for young people suffering from autism, after which he worked in various roles at the Healthcare Inspectorate, including as a disability care inspector and HR (hazard ratio) advisor. After this, he fulfilled various interim assignments within policy, implementation (business operations and IV/IT) and surveillance. For most of those years he worked on the subject of Homelessness in the Netherlands, where he focused on the active involvement of homeless people in policy and implementation. He was also involved in promoting Lean and Agile thinking and working within the ministry. His last interim assignment was at the IV/IT-organization of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, where he had such a positive connecting with his colleagues that he gave up his interim work. After initially leading a number of departments, he subsequently became a member of the MT as Head of Staff for Applicationservices, where his portfolio included Culture and Behavior. Linking joint reflection to a focus on results and people is what drives him.

The staff unit General ICT Services takes care of the hard IT for the RIVM and some external clients. This includes providing physical and virtual workspaces, which are meant for general use as well as for specific groups, like lab staff and scientists. The staff unit manages access and connectivity. GIV is also responsible for the RIVM's government data center, the servers, cloud environment, network services, and platforms used by the RIVM. GIV makes sure everything works well, and also that it's secure.The staff unit General ICT Services takes care of the hard IT for the RIVM and some external clients. This includes providing physical and virtual workspaces, which are meant for general use as well as for specific groups, like lab staff and scientists. The staff unit manages access and connectivity. GIV is also responsible for the RIVM's government data center, the servers, cloud environment, network services, and platforms used by the RIVM. GIV makes sure everything works well, and also that it's secure.

Head Roel Derksen

Roel Derksen studied Computer Science at HAN University of Applied Sciences and started his career in the IT sector. After 20 years in consultancy and various R&D leadership roles in the private software sector, he made the move to RIVM. He is currently leading the further professionalization of IT infrastructure and services as Head of Staff for Generic ICT Services. Thanks to his technical background, he effortlessly connects management and technology. Strengthening digital resilience and delivering suitable services is what drives him.

The ODD staff unit supports RIVM researchers in the responsible, safe, and effective use of data. ODD advises on and collaborates in areas like data stewardship and data governance, statistics, modeling and data science, data visualization, bioinformatics, and computing. ODD also provides databases and takes care of data accessibility. Besides giving advice, ODD also carries out analyses in these fields on request. ODD connects research groups on data-related topics and is responsible for policy and guidelines, knowledge transfer, quality control, and evaluation. ODD keeps an eye on new and innovative research methods and techniques and applies them in practice where relevant. The staff consists of almost 100 employees, spread across five departments:

• Data Stewardship & Governance (DSG)
• Databases & Data Access (DBO)
• Data Application and Visualization (DTV)
• Statistics, Data Science and Modeling (SDM)
• Bioinformatics and Computing (BIR)

Head Zimma Kluit

Zimma Kluit studied Physics at Utrecht University, with a master's in Nanomaterials and a graduation project in Photonics. After her studies, she started as an IT management trainee at KPN, where she gained extensive experience in IT for large corporate clients through various assignments and roles. She then moved into the data domain, where she worked for several years as a product owner for metadata and as a manager of DevOps teams. As an advisor to a member of the Board of Directors in the consumer market, she gained experience in a dynamic administrative environment. From 2023, she was responsible at KPN for data strategy, data architecture, and data change. In this role, she guided an organizational change in which data management was reorganized across KPN. As of mid-2026, she started as Head of Research and Data Services at RIVM.

The staff unit Information Services Advice and Management (IAR) is the primary point of contact for all clients, though certain components work exclusively for RIVM.

IAR:

• advises RIVM’s management on the development of the information services landscape necessary for the execution of RIVM’s processes;
• supports clients in formulating information services queries at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels;
• manages the functional operation of general information services systems;
• advises RIVM’s management on the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of information services systems;
• is responsible for establishing specific agreements on project execution (scope, budget, timeline, overview of executing parties, and agreements on management and maintenance);
• provides project management for the completion of assignments;
• manages delivery portfolio and resource management for the Information Services organisation;
• oversees service portfolio management for the Information Services organisation;
• advises on agile working methods through the Agile Center of Competence. 

IAR comprises four departments:

• Information Services Advice (IVA)
• Project and Delivery Management (PDM)
• Functional Management (FB)
• Coordination and Support (RON)

Head Elise van Batenburg

Elise van Batenburg studied Business Administration and Communication Science. Between 1994 and 2004, Elise held positions at KPN Telecom in marketing, business development, and sales. She also worked internationally in the joint venture between KPN Telecom and Swedish Telia, where she gained expertise in how to build markets from a business perspective, as well as in optimising market share and revenue through product and market development. In 2004, she founded a strategic consulting firm for corporate strategic assessments, working together with consultants in corporate finance. In 2007, she brought her business to Atos Consulting, where she established a Business IT consultancy as principal consultant. Over the past 10 years, she has worked in the health sector in the city of Amsterdam. Since 2022, she has served as Head of Information Services Advice and Management at RIVM. The staff unit is responsible for strategic and tactical advice on information management issues. Furthermore, the staff unit provides project managers, service level managers and functional managers. To manage assignments, the staff unit offers support in the areas of delivery portfolio management, service portfolio management, and business relations management.