GOVTECH TESTLAB: TEST LAB FOR THE BERLIN ADMINISTRATION

The market for innovative digital solutions in administration is large. But which GovTech products are practical? The GovTech TestLAB of CityLAB Berlin, together with employees of the Berlin administration, examines GovTech products for their added value.

Especially in Berlin, the so-called GovTech market, which offers digital solutions for administrations, has grown significantly in recent years. Large tech companies and numerous start-ups offer products and services that contribute to the modernization of administration, improve services, and simplify data usage. But how can one recognize the real added value of such a digital solution? And where and how can one test whether it actually meets the requirements and expectations of practice?

Since 2024, the GovTech TestLAB has provided a space where administrative employees can easily try out selected GovTech products in workshops and test them on a low-threshold basis for their practicality and user-friendliness.

"The 'smartest' application is useless if the people who are supposed to work with it do not have a good user experience and, in the worst case, feel like they are 'fighting' with the tool," say Deborah Paluch and Markus Sperl from the CityLab team. In their blog post, they explain how the GovTech TestLAB works and report on initial experiences.

GovTech TestLAB – Our Test Lab for the Berlin Administration - CityLAB Berlin (Report in German only.)

CityLAB Berlin is a public innovation lab at the intersection of administration, science, business, and civil society. It is operated by the Technologiestiftung Berlin (Technology Foundation Berlin) and funded by the Berlin Senate Chancellery.

TeilenShare

01.07.2026

Cyber-secure administrative workplace of the future

Through the HAL 2027 competition, the Cyberagentur is seeking unconventional ideas on what the administrative workplace of the day after tomorrow might look like. Researchers, start-ups, universities and companies can take part by submitting brief proposals. The deadline for entries is 18 August, 2026.

01.07.2026

Apply now: Civic Coding project consulting

Civil society organisations such as foundations, associations and charities can apply until 31 July 2026 to the federal Civic Coding initiative for free expert advice on AI projects. One condition is that the projects must be geared towards the public good.

19.06.2026

Innovations for the future – this is how Berlin is positioning itself for the next 10 years

“Pioneering Tech for Freedom” is the guiding principle of the new Deep Tech Berlin Agenda (DTBA). The Berlin Senate has thus adopted the strategic framework for the city’s technology-oriented innovation policy for the next ten years.

02.06.2026

Focus on Sustainability

Berlin has decided on the first sustainability strategy for the entire city. The strategy adapts the implementation of the 2030 Agenda to Berlin’s specific context. A new tool for cities, counties, and municipalities: The “Portal for Sustainable Municipalities” from the German Institute for Urban Affairs.

02.06.2026

Berlin Launches GovTech Berlin Unit

As part of its efforts to digitize its public administration, Berlin is relying on a new platform: The GovTech Berlin Unit specifically matches the needs of Berlin’s public administration with companies from the capital’s GovTech ecosystem, thereby serving as a bridge between the two.

28.08.2025

Green Light for three Berlin Real-world Laboratories

IWIQ, B(e)Ware and U-Space Berlin are the three Berlin "Reallabore" (“real-world laboratories”), the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises is funding with a total of nine million euros over the next three years. The projects were selected as part of a new funding competition organised and announced by the Berlin Senate.