Due to their cross-cutting nature, GD:B measures are used to test new forms of interdepartmental cooperation in the administration. Traditional hierarchies can be replaced by more flexible role models that promote networked and independent work and accelerate coordination processes. The strategy supports cooperative collaboration, both internally and externally, in order to establish joint work between the administration, Berlin residents, the business community, academia and organized civil society as normal practice.
The challenges of the digital future are better met by first creating or expanding the necessary foundations and simplifying processes. This includes matters such as contracting, process design, data literacy and quality, and interfaces for internal administrative collaboration.
Modern (administrative) processes simplify and accelerate the implementation of projects and promote coordination between Berlin residents , the administration, businesses, academia, research and civil society. To this end, tools for management are being developed that take into account how the goals and directions of different city strategies interact and promote effective project-based collaboration. The perspective of potential users must always be taken into account. This includes clearly designating responsibilities between the individual authorities. Sample templates and method templates for individual work stages can be useful tools for facilitating a uniform approach and ensuring quality assurance in connection with individual implementation projects. A standardized process is described in Chapter Implementation.
Learning experimentation must be possible within the legal framework. This can also be pursued in the context of living labs based on exemptions. To this end, experimentation clauses must be anchored in the underlying legal framework and put to use. Flexible financing models and impact-oriented funding instruments support rapid testing of promising approaches and their stabilization. Agile procedures also have to be applied in public procurement, as far as the legal framework allows, so as to do better justice to the process-oriented nature of digital projects and products in particular and make public tenders more attractive for startups and locally based SMEs. To this end, regular sharing of experience is just as important as training courses in administration. In addition to more efficient processes, greater consideration will be given to transparency, sustainability and anti-discrimination criteria in public tenders.
Efficient government data management and the provision of high-quality data are prerequisites for the development of intelligent applications in the urban context. The build-up of data skills in each authority and the central responsibilities for high-quality data resources ensure implementation of Berlin’s Open Data strategy [32] currently in development, and also offers crucial potential for planning in Berlin. Interfaces with the private sector, academia, and civil society are used to make data from these areas available for public use as well, e.g. (real-time) data in smart energy management and sustainable mobility planning. These developments are also pursued in line with Berlin’s ICT architecture. [33]
Safe and reliable operation of basic utilities provides the foundation for a smart Berlin. These critical infrastructures (CRITIS)* must be designed to be fail-safe in order to guarantee the security of supply to the civilian population. Municipal sovereignty and responsiveness also benefit from a secure infrastructure for owner operation of community-oriented digital applications. Owner operation must be standard where appropriate and possible and take into account current security requirements in information technology as well as the requirements of the Berlin ICT architecture. These are implemented through cybersecurity and data security strategies.