Government as a Platform
Organisation | European Commission, DG DIGIT
My Role | Researcher, Co-author
How can governments collaborate with start-ups and SMEs to solve for public interest innovation?
This is a summary. Download the full report here.
Note: This report is the outcome of an extensive research study I co-authored during my traineeship year (2022) at the European Commission (DG DIGIT) in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre (JRC). Part of a larger research effort at JRC focussing on digital innovation in the public sector, it was published in the context of Europe’s Digital Decade as well as the post-COVID-19 recovery plan NextGenerationEU.
Background.
Today’s societal and political challenges – from global pandemics and the digital transformation of the economy to demographic shifts and climate change – put extra pressure on governments to act innovatively and to do so at an adequate speed. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of an efficient digital public administration while also bringing into sharp focus the current status of digital public services in the European Union.
One of the biggest challenges for governments today is to reconcile the principles of good, reliable public management (bureaucracy) with the need for greater agility and creativity as critical ingredients for public innovation. A promising answer put forward by the European Commission to address these complex challenges is GovTech, the co-operation of public sector organisations with innovative start-ups and SMEs to solve for value and build Europe’s digital public future (i.e., government powered by technology for the people).
However, while more and more governments across the EU are starting to engage with GovTech, there remains critical challenges related to the complexity of public procurement structures, the dynamics of the GovTech market in the EU, as well as cultural factors.
Challenges.
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Despite significant advancements, fully digital public services are not yet a reality for many citizens in the European Union, and the potential offered by emerging digital technologies is not fully embraced. The pandemic has indeed spurred some urgent action and improvements, even unlocking longstanding administrative challenges. However, there is still a long way to go to fully transform the government digitally.
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To support EU Digital Sovereignty in an open and free market, the government needs to ensure a level-playing field between companies bidding for public contracts to provide digital products and services, thereby reducing dependencies on major providers.
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There is an urgent need to experiment rapidly, move fast, and innovate continuously to deliver user-centric public services.
Unlocking GovTech in the EU.
A crucial ingredient for unlocking the European GovTech ecosystem across borders is interoperability, which allows start-ups to sell their products and services more easily to different governments, and therefore grow and scale-up in a European Single Market. The European GovTech Incubator, launched under the Digital Europe Programme, to support cross-border collaboration, is a significant step in this direction: a physical and virtual space where new trust between government and private sector actors can be fostered; where new methods of cross-sectoral co-ideation, co-creation and co-learning can be tested, practised and refined.