Highlights from the SURF Members’ Council, April 2026
Office Productivity
Due to geopolitical shifts, the need for digital autonomy in education and research is more urgent than ever. Together with the members, SURF has drawn up a sharpened strategy for the Office Workspace & Productivity domain. This strategy rests on two ambitions that reinforce each other: strengthening digital autonomy and safeguarding continuity and flexibility for our members.
Open Access VAT case ruling
At the end of March, the ruling in the Open Access VAT case was received. Previously, the Members’ Council was taken through the background to the court case, the possible scenarios and the financial consequences. According to the court, Reading Rights and Publishing Rights are two different products. Publishing Rights, meaning open access publishing, fall under the high VAT rate, which is a setback. The Members’ Council was taken through the consequences of the ruling and the possible continuation of the court case.
Establishment of SURFcert BV
A previous Members’ Council already dealt with the Dutch implementation of the NIS2 Directive in the Cyber Security Act (Cbw) and the possible role of SURF in carrying out the statutory task of a sectoral CSIRT. For higher education institutions designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. It was explained how the statutory task will take shape through SURF: via SURFcert BV, which is being established specifically for this purpose. Attention was also paid to the consequences for the cyber resilience of SURF members that do not fall under the designation by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Collectivity
Collectivity is one of the main goals for the second part of the 2022–2027 strategy period. In recent months, research has been carried out into collectivity within the cooperative. For example, several people were interviewed who have a formal role in governance within SURF and in large programmes where collectivity is essential, such as Npuls. In short: the research shows where collaboration works well, where frictions arise and which conditions are essential in order to move forward together. On the basis of a number of statements, the Members’ Council held a discussion about the outcomes of the research.