This article is written by Petra Dzurovcinova, Chief Innovation Officer, City of Bratislava, Slovakia.

  • The problem: Vendor lock-in causes local governments to use only the features of open-source technologies that corporate partners consider profitable, usually not taking into account the needs of stakeholders.
  • Why it matters: Delivering relevant services to residents.
  • The solution: New skill sets for public servants based on understanding the needs of stakeholders, shaping digital tools by them.

Context

Mariana Mazzucato argues in her work for a strong government that can drive change, and be a valuable partner for the business and academic sectors. Digital transformation, when done right, can improve operations and outcomes for stakeholders. It can have a large impact on social inclusion, climate change adaptation and wellbeing of residents. It has been one of the buzzwords in the business world for nearly three decades. Local governments are catching up, although we saw many of them making the same mistakes as the business world did.

The needs of residents are shifting, and they are expecting better, more tailored services which they are used to from the private sector. For bureaucracies to open up, listen, test, and possibly fail is an endeavour that might be scary. However, when equipped with new skill sets, such as user research and basic design thinking principles, public servants can understand the needs of their key stakeholders. These are not just residents but their colleagues too.

Start small, think big

The main failure of digital transformation is misunderstanding the needs of target users, and the processes that should be followed. We need to think of technologies as a tool, not as a holy grail. However, the choice of technologies is crucial to their success. Needs and wants of residents change as they go through life. Local governments need to be able to respond to them, that’s where the flexibility of open-source comes in. I would argue that cities need to have their technological brain in-house to drive this transformation. The architecture of services follows internal processes, and the choice of tech stack needs to be future-proof and flexible. This can hardly be achieved from the outside since it also needs to be intertwined with the internal document management system and workflows. The choice of any open-source technology depends on the maturity and stability of the tech stack, which is often reflected in the size of the open-source community and contributors to improving the technology. Sometimes it is hard to resist the new shiny technology however, pragmatism is key. In Bratislava we went for a light, popular and I would say future-oriented tech stack. To make these decisions well, you need to have experts in-house who can evaluate the needs and desired outcomes on one hand, and available technologies on the other. Talent is sometimes hard to come by. At the beginning we were helped by advocacy organisations and NGOs as well as partners in procurement. In the long run, businesses delivering from the government need someone on the inside who drives the product forward.

Using open-source requires courage and a change in thinking about public service.

What happened/What should happen

Open-source invites transparency and flexibility.

Using open-source technologies requires skills and understanding of IT architecture, as well as understanding the opportunities and drawbacks of the selected tech stack. Problems arising from the diverse group of local government users is not a one time thing to check off your list, it is an ongoing feast of discovery. It also invites different suppliers to support your mission. Since local governments drive the development that is designed and tested with the user in mind, they can deliver services cheaper and faster. Public procurement is then an opportunity for local entrepreneurs and companies to shape the quality of the services provided in their city. They can work alongside larger providers of corporate solutions that are necessary for mid- and back-office operations.

Look at Mexico City, which took in its tech development, employing nearly 500 developers and saving 150 million dollars annually. Paris and Barcelona consider open-source old news. Paris has been building its digital services for over 20 years and shared them with municipalities within France and abroad. Budapest has been using Paris’ digital service for their participatory budget.

In Bratislava we started just three years ago. We have built our new website and prepared a digital account for our residents where they can access digital services based on their needs. Our goal is to take city organisations to the same starting point and then move forward. We had to leap over 10 years of trial and error by other cities and jump to the trends of the third decade of the 21st century. We do all of this with users in mind; for example, the city website has been co-designed with nearly 500 people, our colleagues and residents of Bratislava. Once the service is available to the public, we also publish the code on our GitHub.

For some tools Software as a Service might be an option. Local governments need to understand their limitations. For example, accessibility might not be a priority for the supplier. They might not be interested in new features and might charge for any customisation.

Main takeaway

Changing mindset in the ever changing environment

Using open-source requires courage and a change in thinking about public service. Public servants need to learn new skills to better serve the diverse pool of residents, and these might come from different areas, businesses or NGOs. Cities are colourful melting pots of innovation, and their local governments need to keep up. When they do, residents feel like they can co-create the city, they feel heard and their satisfaction goes up. Once the city is well managed, it is also attractive to high-quality workers who again push the increase in the quality of life. City government needs to balance progress with being mindful of social inclusion, providing housing and services for the vulnerable as well as climate change strategies that ensure long-term liveability. Digital can be a helping hand in all these endeavours.

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