Table 1 Data resources for qualitative content analysis

Nine session reports and a summary report of a PBL seminar on expert roles on 18 January 2011

PBL’s strategic plan: the charcoal sketch (November 2011), implementation plans of PBL’s departments (June 2012) and progress reports (2013–2015)

16 interview reports and a summary report of a client satisfaction survey conducted in Autumn 2012. For details, see de Wit and Merkx (2014)

Scientific audit report (PBL Audit Committee, 2013) and PBL’s response to the audit committee (PBL, 2013b)

PBL practitioners reflected upon dilemmas they encounter in their daily practices during a seminar on expert roles. The seminar was organized under the heading of PBL’s strategic programme on open assessment methodology

PBL’s strategic plan was drafted in Autumn 2011 by the PBL management team. It describes ambitions and goals for PBL’s role and position in 2015. Activities needed to achieve them in the period from 2011 to 2015 are formulated in implementation plans. The progress reports summarize PBL’s achievement towards its self-defined ambitions and goals

The client satisfaction survey was conducted by PBL’s counsellor in 16 semi-structured interviews with policy clients at various governmental departments, collaboration partners at universities and knowledge institutes, media and a societal organization. The survey was conducted as part of a self-evaluation study that was conducted in precedence to the scientific audit

An international scientific audit committee evaluated the scientific quality and societal relevance of research that is conducted by PBL. The audit covers the period from May 2008 to May 2012; with a focus on research conducted in 2011 and 2012. The committee made recommendations with regard to research improvements, relevance, PBL management and PBL’s positioning in the future