Promoting innovations

The innovation competition for 2025 is on

The Digital Public Services Switzerland is providing a total of CHF 200,000 in annual funding for innovative projects. An independent jury – consisting of representatives from the three federal levels – selects the projects and distributes the funding.

The Digital Public Services Switzerland will keep promoting innovative projects in 2025. Do you, as a representative of a public authority or non-commercial organisation, have an innovative project? If so, submit your application for funding by the 8^th January 2025 via the online application form in German, Italian or French.

Online form service portal for communes

The Zurich communes and towns of Horgen, Thalwil, Uster and Wetzikon intend to jointly procure and develop a scalable, client-friendly online form service portal. Other communes and cities can also potentially use it. The online form service portal is intended to enable communes to offer digital end-to-end services in the form of online forms flexibly and without great effort, thus enabling the population to conduct uncomplicated, digital transactions with the authorities. The communes benefit thanks to shared templates, interfaces, form services (digital payments, digital signatures, etc.) and shared development costs. The funding will be used primarily for the development of basic services that will be available to all future users.

Organisation: Town of Uster

Support from Digital Public Services Switzerland: CHF 25,000

Application platform with the "energy efficient service" label

Most platforms are currently used in a virtualised environment. This requires a lot of resources. However, the so-called virtualisation layer overlaps heavily with the containerisation layer (container = software code is bundled together with necessary components such as libraries, frameworks, etc. to form isolated packages that make up the application platform). Without the virtualisation layer, resources required to operate the containers would be saved. To optimise energy consumption, the platform should be able to start and stop services independently in order to free up memory, CPU and licences. Project objectives:

• Demonstrate the functionality and advantages of using an on-demand container system;
• Demonstrate the functionality, advantages and usability of running containers directly on physical servers (on bare metal).

Organisation: Canton of Valais, cantonal IT organisation

Support from Digital Public Services Switzerland: CHF 50,000

Innoventure

Innoventure is an analogue card and role-playing game designed to introduce public services and specialist teams, including beginners, to proven innovation methods in a fun way. The game guides players through the basics of innovation methods such as design thinking, agile methods and lean project management in a real-life project of their choice, thereby promoting creativity and collaboration. The aim is to offer an effective and accessible educational tool. It facilitates the understanding and practical application of these methods in a specific professional environment and over a specific period of time. The game is being developed in two national languages (French and German).

Organisation: City of Biel

Support from Digital Public Services Switzerland: CHF 15,000

Form designer for the autonomous creation of online services

The low-code form designer is intended to enable public authorities to create forms and online services themselves without any technical knowledge and integrate them into their existing website environment. Incoming orders are processed via the communal or cantonal cockpit, or end-to-end in the existing specialist solutions. By integrating online payment service providers (such as Payrexx), fee-based services – such as ordering fee stamps – can also be paid for directly online. The form designer enables all authorities to create online services quickly and easily, which can be customised autonomously at any time without development time. With the help of a collection of templates, users can also benefit from existing online services from other communes or cantons, and integrate them into their website environment.

Organisation: Fit4Digital

Support from Digital Public Services Switzerland: CHF 10,000

Digital divide and digital inclusion: educational modules for the public

At the meeting of the Conference of French and Italian-speaking digital directors (CLDN) on 9 November 2023, the issue of the digital divide was identified as a common concern. The cantons of Vaud and Geneva, together with the cantons of Neuchâtel and Ticino, want to set up a Swiss online platform for the provision of training modules to encourage the support of people who need assistance in the digital field, either directly or via facilitators. With this innovative project, the French and Italian-speaking cantons wish to test the development of training modules on digital topics that are relevant to all (cybersecurity, e-ID, online services, etc.). It also aims to promote the transfer of knowledge so that the participants are then able to develop modules on their own and expand the platform.

Organisation: Canton of Vaud

Support from Digital Public Services Switzerland: CHF 30,000

Interactive 24/7 support for administrative matters

The project consists of setting up a tool in the form of an intuitive interface for finding information on public services in the canton of Jura. The tool will use generative AI technology to direct users from the multitude of data sources to the right platform or form. It will also be able to provide useful information and easy-to-understand explanations to guide the user through their administrative steps. The aim of this virtual assistant is to speed up the development of digital services that are also attractive to people who are not at ease with these new technologies. A second objective is to measure the use of this tool and draw lessons with regard to the development of this technology by the public services. The result is a semantic model for prioritising the data sources of cantonal public services.

Organisation: Canton of Jura

Support from Digital Public Services Switzerland: CHF 40,000

Self-organisation as a driver for online participation – DAOs and their potential for public participation

Society is showing a strong interest in digital co-determination using new opportunities for participation. At the same time, there is also a need for networking via self-regulating ecosystems that include business representatives, public services and the public. Certain forms of organisation based on blockchain technology offer approaches for improving online participation and self-determination: decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) can use algorithmically implemented systems to make consensus decisions in self-regulated ecosystems. DAOs function without traditional hierarchical power structures, but are controlled by a community in participatory processes using blockchain technology. The project aims to understand the potential uses of DAOs for online participation and the inclusion of all stakeholders in administrative processes at communal and regional level.

Organisation: Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW, School of Management and Law, Institute for Organizational Viability

Support from Digital Public Services Switzerland: CHF 12,500

End-to-end digitalisation and more efficient design of consultations on legislation

When new acts, ordinances, decrees or regulations are drafted at national, cantonal or communal level, or existing legislation is (partially) revised, a consultation is usually required. Holding consultations is a time-consuming, manual and complex process for public services. With an interface between the Sitrox LexWork digital legislative management system, which is used in 23 cantons, and the "E-Mitwirkung" system, which is used in 13 cantons, the content could be seamlessly transferred as structured data for consultation. As part of the project, an interface is therefore to be developed together with the cantons and a best-practice process for efficient consultations on legislation is to be developed and published.

Organisation: Canton of Bern

Support from Digital Public Services Switzerland: CHF 22,500

Funding details 

• A total of CHF 200,000 p.a. is available for innovation projects in 2024.