Karlsruhe aims to remain a hub for digital innovation and is taking another step in the right direction to achieve this: The Karlsruhe City Council has decided to join the “GovTech Kommunal” association. This association supports the digitalization efforts of cities, municipalities, and counties throughout Germany. The network is intended to strengthen local capacity for digital action.
During the current legislative term, FOR Karlsruhe has advocated for a halt to new municipal memberships. In times of tight budgets, every municipal investment should be scrutinized. However, particularly in the areas of digitalization and administrative modernization, individual municipalities acting alone will not be enough.
City Councilman Friedemann Kalmbach (FÜR Karlsruhe) explains:
“In principle, we remain skeptical about new memberships and call for a thorough cost-benefit analysis to avoid costly duplication of structures. In the case of GovTech Kommunal, however, we see a clear benefit: Local governments must stop trying to reinvent the wheel in isolation when it comes to digitalization. The right approach is for cities to network strategically and pool their resources. Only through stronger cooperation will we be able to integrate modern IT solutions and AI applications into public administration quickly, in a legally compliant manner, and cost-effectively.”
Joining the nationwide network GovTech Kommunal e. V. gives the City of Karlsruhe, among other things, access to a shared platform (“Deutschlandplattform”), through which proven software solutions as well as training and learning opportunities for employees can be efficiently utilized. In addition, under certain conditions, software solutions can be procured without bureaucratic hurdles through in-house contracts. From FÜR Karlsruhe’s perspective, the annual cost of 8,000 euros is money well spent, provided that it helps avoid time-consuming and expensive custom development projects in Karlsruhe.
FÜR Karlsruhe will approve the accession during the upcoming committee deliberations, but announces that it will continue to closely monitor the specific potential savings and the benefits of membership in the interest of efficient budget management in the coming years as well.
