The “Smart Cities and Regions” step-by-step plan was compiled by an advisory board with the participation of several federal ministries, five federal states, municipalities and representatives from business, science and civil society. The aim is to answer key questions relating to the digitalization of German cities and municipalities. These include: What framework conditions are needed so that digital solutions developed for one city or region can work elsewhere? Which structures and institutions can be used for knowledge transfer, and which need to be new or further developed? “The advisory board compared eight marketplaces and explicitly advocates the use and further development of our marketplace in the step-by-step plan. We are naturally very pleased about this,” confirms Steffen Heß.

The “DEUTSCHLAND.DIGITAL” marketplace was designed by Fraunhofer IESE as part of the “Smarte.Land.Regionen” model project. The research project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and helps rural districts to create a digital strategy and develop and implement digital solutions for problems in rural areas. The first model regions started in 2021 - including the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich in Rhineland-Palatinate and the district of Coesfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia. A total of 20 regions across Germany took part in the funding program. The digital marketplace developed by Fraunhofer IESE is the central platform in the “Smarte.Land.Regionen” project - and is now also the focus of the phased plan “Smart Cities and Regions”. The findings to date will now be incorporated into the further development of the marketplace for the phased plan.

The marketplace offers an important service for local authorities: it supports the procurement and ultimately the use of digital services without requiring local authority employees to have their own IT skills. The marketplace initially provides a curated overview of offers and services and enables an objective comparison of the various solutions. To this end, Fraunhofer IESE, as a neutral operator, will examine the digital solutions during the research project on the basis of various criteria. In this way, it provides support in carrying out the tendering process and operating the corresponding solutions.

“We are working to ensure that our marketplace also enables a transparent and neutral evaluation of the online offerings, which in turn will support other municipalities in selecting the right solutions for them,” explains Anne-Marie Kilpert, Department Head Smart City Design and project manager at Fraunhofer IESE. Over the next two years, the marketplace is to be expanded even further in terms of functionality and, with the expertise of the BMEL, BMWSB and other experts, developed into an established tool for digital transformation in municipalities.

The “Smart Cities and Regions” [in German] step-by-step plan is available on the BMWSB website.