diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
index d9c6049..bf36a09 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -142,6 +142,8 @@ jobs:
       # reaches green health" smoke (it replaces the old compose-smoke job).
       - name: Bring up the full stack & wait for health
         run: make verify-up
+      - name: Observability backplane (Grafana + Tempo + Prometheus datasources)
+        run: OBS_TIMEOUT=180 make verify-observability
       - name: ACL ↔ OpenZaak integration tests
         run: make verify-acl
       - name: OpenZaak → NRC notification delivery
@@ -157,7 +159,7 @@ jobs:
       # Log dump must precede teardown (which removes the containers).
       - name: Dump container logs on failure
         if: failure()
-        run: docker compose -f infra/docker-compose.yml logs --no-color --tail=100 oz-init openzaak nrc-init nrc-web nrc-celery nrc-beat flowable-db flowable-rest flowable-init keycloak acl bff domain projection-db event-subscriber projection-api self-service openbaar behandel 2>&1 || true
+        run: docker compose -f infra/docker-compose.yml logs --no-color --tail=100 oz-init openzaak nrc-init nrc-web nrc-celery nrc-beat flowable-db flowable-rest flowable-init keycloak acl bff domain projection-db event-subscriber projection-api self-service openbaar behandel tempo prometheus grafana 2>&1 || true
       - name: Tear down
         if: always()
         run: make down
diff --git a/BACKLOG.md b/BACKLOG.md
index 5857963..b87a48b 100644
--- a/BACKLOG.md
+++ b/BACKLOG.md
@@ -253,10 +253,16 @@ Split (issue #11 closed) into two independently-demoable slices per §13 — the
 
 **Outcome:** Beheer portal lets an admin view ZTC catalogi (read-only first), and manage the ACL's default-fill configuration via a CRUD UI. MFA on the medewerker realm enforced.
 
-### S-16 · OpenTelemetry traces + Grafana dashboard
+### S-16 · OpenTelemetry traces + Grafana dashboard *(split — #17 closed)*
 
 **Outcome:** Traces span portal → BFF → Domain → ACL → OpenZaak and portal → BFF → Domain → Flowable. Grafana dashboards pre-built for golden signals.
 
+Split into independently deployable sub-slices (CLAUDE.md §13):
+
+- **S-16a** (#122) · Observability backplane — Grafana Tempo + Prometheus + Grafana in compose, datasources auto-provisioned (ADR-0023). No collector; config baked into built images.
+- **S-16b** (#123) · Distributed traces across the five .NET services (OTLP → Tempo; nginx `traceparent` passthrough). Depends on S-16a.
+- **S-16c** (#124) · Prometheus metrics + golden-signal Grafana dashboards. Depends on S-16a.
+
 ### S-17 · Quartz.NET scheduler — herregistratie reminder sweep ✅
 
 **Outcome:** Daily Quartz.NET cron job finds inscriptions within 90 days of their herregistratie deadline and reminds each (flag on the aggregate + log). No outbound notification and no domain event in v1 — the reminder is the persisted flag, surfaced on the read model (ADR-0022, #120). Quartz fires time-triggered sweeps; the existing pumps stay as queue-drainers.
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a0c22bc..87e87c4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ export DOCKER_HOST := unix://$(PODMAN_SOCK)
 endif
 endif
 
-.PHONY: ci lint build unit mutation frontend integration verify verify-up verify-acl verify-nrc verify-projection verify-bff verify-domain verify-notifications smoke up down local verify-local local-down changelog openzaak-up openzaak-smoke openzaak-seed openzaak-down stack-up stack-smoke stack-down keycloak-up keycloak-smoke keycloak-down flowable-up flowable-smoke flowable-down help
+.PHONY: ci lint build unit mutation frontend integration verify verify-up verify-acl verify-nrc verify-projection verify-bff verify-domain verify-observability verify-notifications smoke up down local verify-local local-down changelog openzaak-up openzaak-smoke openzaak-seed openzaak-down stack-up stack-smoke stack-down keycloak-up keycloak-smoke keycloak-down flowable-up flowable-smoke flowable-down help
 
 ## ci: run the full pipeline — lint, build, unit, mutation, frontend, verify (mirrors Gitea Actions)
 ## `verify` is the live-stack stage (full stack up once → ACL + notification checks).
@@ -170,6 +170,11 @@ verify-bff:
 verify-e2e:
 	bash infra/run-e2e-check.sh
 
+## verify-observability: assert the observability backplane (Grafana + provisioned Tempo &
+## Prometheus datasources) is live, against the already-running stack (S-16a).
+verify-observability:
+	bash infra/run-observability-check.sh
+
 ## verify: local mirror of the CI verify-stack job — full stack up once, all checks,
 ## tear down (always). For fast single-concern local iteration use `integration`
 ## (oz-only) or `verify-notifications` (oz+nrc) instead.
diff --git a/docs/architecture/adr-0023-observability-stack.md b/docs/architecture/adr-0023-observability-stack.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7adb034
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/architecture/adr-0023-observability-stack.md
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+# ADR-0023: Grafana-native observability stack (Tempo + Prometheus + Grafana)
+
+- **Status:** Accepted
+- **Date:** 2026-07-23
+- **Deciders:** Respellion engineering
+- **Slice:** S-16a (#122), first of the S-16 (#17) split
+
+## Context
+
+The PRD calls for "OpenTelemetry traces, Prometheus metrics; a local Grafana with
+pre-built dashboards" (§80). S-16 was split (CLAUDE.md §13) into a backplane slice
+(this one), distributed tracing (#123), and metrics + dashboards (#124). The
+backplane must stand up first: a local, CI-friendly place for traces and metrics to
+land, viewable in one UI, reaching green health within the 3-minute compose budget.
+
+Two shape decisions are non-obvious enough to record.
+
+## Decision
+
+**Run a Grafana-native stack — Grafana Tempo (traces) + Prometheus (metrics) +
+Grafana (UI) — with the services exporting OTLP straight to Tempo (no collector),
+and ship the config baked into small built images.**
+
+### Trace backend: Tempo (not Jaeger)
+
+Tempo keeps everything under one Grafana pane alongside metrics (and later logs),
+which is exactly the "local Grafana with dashboards" the PRD asks for. Jaeger would
+add a second UI and a second mental model for no benefit at this scale.
+
+### No OTLP collector
+
+Tempo ingests OTLP directly (gRPC 4317 / HTTP 4318) and Prometheus scrapes each
+service's `/metrics`, so a collector would be a hop that processes nothing. Skipped.
+If we later need fan-out, tail sampling, or log processing, a collector is an
+additive change — the services already speak OTLP.
+
+### Config baked into built images, not config volumes
+
+The upstream Common Ground modules (OpenZaak, NRC, Keycloak, Flowable) run as
+**verbatim** images and get their config streamed into external named volumes by
+`infra/seed-config.sh`, because bind mounts don't reach sibling containers on the
+CI runner (see `docs/runbooks/gitea-actions-gotchas.md`). The observability tools
+are **not** peer modules we must run verbatim, so we take the simpler path: a
+three-line `Dockerfile` per tool that `COPY`s its config in. This reaches sibling
+containers everywhere (docker, podman, CI) with no seed step, no `CFG_VOLS` entry,
+and no Makefile sprawl.
+
+### Verified, not assumed
+
+`infra/run-observability-check.sh` (the `verify-observability` step, run early in CI
+`verify-stack`) asks Grafana to reach both datasources — Prometheus via its health
+method, Tempo via the datasource proxy (Tempo's Grafana plugin implements no health
+method) — so the check proves the datasources are actually wired, not merely that
+containers started. The containers are not in `WAIT_SVCS`; the check polls Grafana
+itself, so no in-image healthcheck tool is required.
+
+## Consequences
+
+**Positive**
+
+- One UI for traces + metrics + (future) logs. Config is versioned in
+  `infra/observability/` and self-contained in the images.
+- Backplane is independent of app instrumentation — #123 and #124 build on it.
+
+**Negative / costs**
+
+- Three more images built each CI run (kept small; not on the health-gate list).
+- Storage is ephemeral container fs — a demo backplane, not a retention target.
+  Object storage for Tempo / remote-write for Prometheus is a later concern.
+
+## Coupling rules touched (CLAUDE.md §8)
+
+None. The stack is passive infrastructure: services *push* OTLP and *expose*
+`/metrics`; nothing in the stack calls into a service or a peer module.
diff --git a/docs/demo-script.md b/docs/demo-script.md
index eeebfbb..c4b7492 100644
--- a/docs/demo-script.md
+++ b/docs/demo-script.md
@@ -5,6 +5,31 @@ copy-pasteable walkthrough against a local `make up` stack.
 
 ---
 
+## S-16a — observability backplane: Tempo + Prometheus + Grafana (#122, ADR-0023)
+
+**Outcome:** the compose stack now includes a Grafana-native observability backplane — **Tempo** (OTLP
+trace ingest on 4317/4318), **Prometheus**, and **Grafana** with both datasources auto-provisioned.
+Nothing is instrumented yet (traces land in S-16b, metrics + dashboards in S-16c); this slice stands the
+backplane up and proves Grafana can reach both datasources. Config is baked into small built images
+(`infra/observability/`) — no collector, no config-volume seeding.
+
+```bash
+# 1. Bring the stack up, then assert the backplane is live (Grafana healthy + Tempo/Prometheus
+#    datasources reachable through Grafana). This is a CI verify-stack step.
+make up
+make verify-observability        # → ✓ Grafana healthy  ✓ Prometheus reachable  ✓ Tempo reachable
+
+# 2. Or just the backplane, no full stack needed (no external egress):
+docker compose -f infra/docker-compose.yml up -d --build tempo prometheus grafana
+open http://localhost:3000        # Grafana (admin/admin) → Connections → Data sources: Prometheus + Tempo
+open http://localhost:9090        # Prometheus
+```
+
+**The path:** services will export OTLP → **Tempo:4317** and expose `/metrics` ← **Prometheus** scrapes;
+**Grafana** (:3000) reads both via provisioned datasources with fixed uids `tempo` / `prometheus`.
+
+---
+
 ## S-17 — herregistratie reminder sweep on a Quartz cron (#18, ADR-0022)
 
 **Outcome:** an inscription (INGESCHREVEN) now carries the moment it was entered in the register, from
diff --git a/infra/docker-compose.yml b/infra/docker-compose.yml
index 99f18fe..fddfeef 100644
--- a/infra/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/infra/docker-compose.yml
@@ -524,6 +524,45 @@ services:
         condition: service_started
     networks: [cg]
 
+  # ── Observability backplane (S-16a, ADR-0023) ──────────────────────────────
+  # Grafana-native stack: Tempo ingests OTLP traces (the .NET services export
+  # straight to it — no collector hop, S-16b), Prometheus scrapes service
+  # /metrics (S-16c), and Grafana reads both with datasources auto-provisioned.
+  # Config is baked into small built images (COPY) rather than streamed into
+  # external config volumes like the upstream CG modules — these aren't verbatim
+  # peer images, so a built image is the simpler path that still reaches sibling
+  # containers on the CI runner. Not in WAIT_SVCS: run-observability-check.sh
+  # polls Grafana itself, so no in-image healthcheck tool is needed.
+  tempo:
+    build:
+      context: ./observability/tempo
+    image: register-referentie/tempo:dev
+    command: ["-config.file=/etc/tempo.yaml"]
+    networks: [cg]
+
+  prometheus:
+    build:
+      context: ./observability/prometheus
+    image: register-referentie/prometheus:dev
+    ports:
+      - "9090:9090"
+    networks: [cg]
+
+  grafana:
+    build:
+      context: ./observability/grafana
+    image: register-referentie/grafana:dev
+    environment:
+      GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_USER: admin
+      GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD: admin
+      GF_AUTH_ANONYMOUS_ENABLED: "true"
+    ports:
+      - "3000:3000"
+    depends_on:
+      - tempo
+      - prometheus
+    networks: [cg]
+
 volumes:
   oz-db:
   nrc-db:
diff --git a/infra/observability/grafana/Dockerfile b/infra/observability/grafana/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aefc6f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/observability/grafana/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Grafana with datasources baked in via provisioning (S-16a, ADR-0023).
+# Dashboards (S-16c, #124) are added under provisioning/dashboards later.
+FROM grafana/grafana:11.3.0
+COPY provisioning/ /etc/grafana/provisioning/
diff --git a/infra/observability/grafana/provisioning/datasources/datasources.yaml b/infra/observability/grafana/provisioning/datasources/datasources.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38d835f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/observability/grafana/provisioning/datasources/datasources.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# Auto-provisioned datasources (S-16a, ADR-0023). Fixed uids so dashboards (S-16c)
+# and the verify-observability check can reference them by a stable id.
+apiVersion: 1
+
+datasources:
+  - name: Prometheus
+    uid: prometheus
+    type: prometheus
+    access: proxy
+    url: http://prometheus:9090
+    isDefault: true
+
+  - name: Tempo
+    uid: tempo
+    type: tempo
+    access: proxy
+    url: http://tempo:3200
diff --git a/infra/observability/prometheus/Dockerfile b/infra/observability/prometheus/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4845915
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/observability/prometheus/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+FROM prom/prometheus:v2.55.1
+COPY prometheus.yml /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
diff --git a/infra/observability/prometheus/prometheus.yml b/infra/observability/prometheus/prometheus.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e0f800
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/observability/prometheus/prometheus.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# Prometheus scrape config (S-16a, ADR-0023). For the backplane slice it scrapes
+# only itself; the .NET services' /metrics scrape targets are added in S-16c
+# (#124) when the services expose metrics.
+global:
+  scrape_interval: 15s
+
+scrape_configs:
+  - job_name: prometheus
+    static_configs:
+      - targets: ['localhost:9090']
diff --git a/infra/observability/tempo/Dockerfile b/infra/observability/tempo/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f9f600d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/observability/tempo/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Tempo with our config baked in — so it reaches sibling containers on the CI
+# runner without the external-config-volume dance the upstream CG images need.
+FROM grafana/tempo:2.6.1
+COPY tempo.yaml /etc/tempo.yaml
diff --git a/infra/observability/tempo/tempo.yaml b/infra/observability/tempo/tempo.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d5a4dbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/observability/tempo/tempo.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Grafana Tempo — single-binary, all-in-one, local storage (S-16a, ADR-0023).
+# Ingests OTLP directly (services export straight to Tempo; no collector hop).
+# Storage is ephemeral container fs — this is a local/CI demo backplane, not a
+# retention target. ponytail: local backend, swap for object storage if traces
+# must outlive the stack.
+server:
+  http_listen_port: 3200
+
+distributor:
+  receivers:
+    otlp:
+      protocols:
+        grpc:
+          endpoint: 0.0.0.0:4317
+        http:
+          endpoint: 0.0.0.0:4318
+
+ingester:
+  max_block_duration: 5m
+
+storage:
+  trace:
+    backend: local
+    local:
+      path: /var/tempo/blocks
+    wal:
+      path: /var/tempo/wal
diff --git a/infra/run-observability-check.sh b/infra/run-observability-check.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..b340f64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/run-observability-check.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# S-16a (#122): assert the observability backplane is live against an ALREADY-RUNNING
+# stack. Runs curl INSIDE the compose network (like the other verify checks) because
+# the stack's published ports aren't on the CI runner's localhost — the stack is a set
+# of sibling containers on the host daemon. It asks Grafana to reach its provisioned
+# datasources — Prometheus via its health method, Tempo via the datasource proxy (Tempo's
+# Grafana plugin implements no health method) — so it proves the datasources are wired,
+# not merely that the containers started. Polls, so it tolerates a cold Grafana.
+#
+# Does NOT manage the stack lifecycle (the caller owns bring-up + teardown).
+set -euo pipefail
+
+TIMEOUT="${OBS_TIMEOUT:-60}"
+AUTH="${GRAFANA_AUTH:-admin:admin}"
+
+gf="$(docker ps -q --filter 'name=[-_]grafana[-_]' | head -1)"
+[ -n "$gf" ] || { echo "ERROR: no running grafana container — bring the stack up first" >&2; exit 1; }
+net="$(docker inspect -f '{{range $k,$_ := .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{$k}}{{"\n"}}{{end}}' "$gf" | head -1)"
+gf_ip="$(docker inspect -f '{{range .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' "$gf")"
+base="http://$gf_ip:3000"
+echo ">> grafana=$gf_ip network=$net"
+
+# Run curl inside a throwaway container on the stack network (reaches services by IP).
+net_curl() { docker run --rm --network "$net" curlimages/curl:latest "$@"; }
+
+# poll <description> <grep -E pattern> <curl args...>
+poll() {
+  local desc="$1" pat="$2"; shift 2
+  local deadline=$(( $(date +%s) + TIMEOUT ))
+  while :; do
+    if net_curl -fsS "$@" 2>/dev/null | grep -Eq "$pat"; then echo "  ✓ $desc"; return 0; fi
+    if [ "$(date +%s)" -ge "$deadline" ]; then echo "  ✗ $desc ($*)" >&2; return 1; fi
+    sleep 3
+  done
+}
+
+echo "Checking observability backplane at $base ..."
+poll "Grafana is healthy" \
+  '"database":[[:space:]]*"ok"' "$base/api/health"
+poll "Prometheus datasource reachable" \
+  '"status":[[:space:]]*"OK"' -u "$AUTH" "$base/api/datasources/uid/prometheus/health"
+poll "Tempo datasource reachable (via Grafana proxy)" \
+  '"version"' -u "$AUTH" "$base/api/datasources/proxy/uid/tempo/api/status/buildinfo"
+echo "Observability backplane OK."