Smart Government

Innovative, promising, but also disruptive technologies such as the Internet of Things, sensor systems, Big Data, and artificial intelligence have become increasingly important to the public sector in recent years and will have a significant impact on the face of modern government and the delivery of its services. Municipalities everywhere are facing the same opportunities and challenges, as the transition to an intelligently connected city administration is not easy and uncharted territory for many agencies. Uncertainties about how to deal with the new technologies, concerns about potential job losses, acceptance by the public and Business and Management, and organizational and institutional hurdles are all challenges that make successful transformation difficult.

Under the buzzwords "smart government" and "smart city," municipalities are already launching IT and digitization initiatives to holistically connect physical, digital, public and private living spaces. However, even if geographical proximity and similar socio-economic conditions of the municipalities are often given, most of these projects are carried out in isolation. There is hardly any systematic transfer of experience and knowledge between municipalities facing the same or similar challenges, especially across national borders. As a result, there is a tendency to keep reinventing the wheel, which leads to disproportionately high costs and avoidable detours.

Against this background, nine municipalities and four universities around Lake Constance have joined forces to create the  "Smart Government Academy Bodensee" a platform for the systematic exchange of knowledge and experience on the subject of intelligently networked administration and its services (smart government). Each of the nine project partner municipalities is participating with at least one project in this area, the course of which will be accompanied, scientifically reflected and documented by four research institutions around the Lake Constance region during the three-year project period from conception to implementation. The aim is to provide both the project participants and the public with a compact overview, including in the form of practical reports on the experiences gained from the individual Smart Government projects.