The 2013 reorganisation of the Dutch Police into a single organisation with ten regional units
significantly reshaped their real estate needs, prompting plans to reduce 700.000 m² of real estate, add 200.000 m² of new construction, and renovate assets to align with the organisational changes. Since 2017, the Police have adopted a housing policy containing standardisation to tackle their real estate needs, including streamline processes, reduce costs, and create uniformity in new team bureaus. But balancing standardisation with diverse end user needs remains a key challenge, since it’s hard to make changes to the standards in place. The resulting tension between standardisation and diverse user needs raises critical questions about its impact on satisfaction in new team bureaus. Since 2021, new Police team bureaus with standard aspects and standard processes have been developed under this housing policy, but no research has yet explored the impact of standardisation on user satisfaction. This research sought to fill that gap by investigating how the Police's standardisation approach influences end user satisfaction in the new team
bureaus by answering the following research question: “How does the standardisation aspect of the housing policy affect end user satisfaction in the new Police team bureaus?”. To answer this research question, qualitative data collection methods were used. The methods involved a literature review, a case study analysis and in-depth interviews. For the case study, four team bureaus were selected. In-depth interviews were conducted with Police housing staff, end users of team bureaus and architects to gather insights into standardisation and the satisfaction of end users.
Standardisation within the housing policy occurs within standard products and standard processes.
Findings indicate that user involvement and clear, transparent communication in standardised processes, such as the design phase, positively influence satisfaction, while the requirements phase, perceived as overly theoretical, reduces it. Standardised products like building blocks and lay-outs are functional but sometimes struggle to meet specific needs such as noise control and spaces for focused work. Satisfaction hinges on the quality of the standard and its ability to balance uniformity with flexibility. Based on this results, recommendations have been formulated. They pertain to standardising processes, communication, incorporating Post-Occupancy Evaluations, monitoring policy documents, creating
involvement and other important aspects of standard products and processes.