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.