What is GovTech’s value proposition to the public sector?
GovTech is an emerging field with a lot of growth opportunity, including new roles and career paths. The idea to use technology to improve public services by applying a start-up mindset and culture is an enticing call for idealists with an interest in digitalisation.
We want to explore career perspectives in GovTech and examine the opportunities and risks this field holds for public policy graduates. Join us for a discussion of the following questions:
- What is GovTech’s value proposition to the public sector?
- What roles does GovTech offer for public policy graduates?
- What skills do I need?
- What are the growth opportunities, what are the downsides?
- What role should the Hertie School play in this emerging field?
Please note that this event is only open to members of the Hertie School community.
Panel discussion
Nils Hoffmann is head of GovStart Germany/DACH at PUBLIC, a European venture firm dedicated to the GovTech ecosystem. GovStart is a European growth programme for startups entering the public sector. Prior, he was the founding director of the GovLab Arnsberg, which is the innovation lab of the regional government of Arnsberg (North Rhine-Westphalia) and the first innovation lab within state or federal government in Germany. With a background in economics and social sciences, Nils worked as a consultant and analyst for a fintech company before joining the regional government. Connect with Nils on Twitter (@ncfhoffmann) or Linkedin (Nils Hoffmann).
Christina Lang is the Managing Director of the DigitalService4Germany, an internal software development unit of the German government. In October 2020, the DigitalService4Germany GmbH emerged from the previous 4Germany UG, which Christina had helped to build up since 2019 as co-founder and managing director. 4Germany runs the Tech4Gemany and Work4Germany fellowship programs under the patronage of the head of the Federal Chancellery, Helge Braun. In spring 2020, Christina initiated the #WirVsVirus Hackathon of the Federal Government of Germany and organised an implementation program for Open Social Innovation together with six other organizations.
Before founding 4Germany, Christina worked in the German Federal Foreign Office in the Digitalisation Task Force. She is a lawyer, holds a management master's degree from London Business School and started her career at the strategy consultancy McKinsey & Company with a focus on organisational design, digital transformation and change management in the public sector.
Chloé Pahud is a proven serial entrepreneur, social activist, CEO and co-founder of Civocracy. She built and sold three companies before starting Civocracy. She has master's degrees in Psychology, Management and HR. With Civocracy, she empowers local governments to connect directly with their communities by undertaking digital civic participation via an online platform and advisory services. This helps rebuild trust in the government, increase transparency, leads to new innovation and city developments, and ensures better decisions. Last year she became CEO of Civocracy virtually overnight. She embraced the challenge and in the last months, she not only managed to establish her new role, she also rebuilt the team infrastructure, won new clients in new markets and secured pre-seed funding.
Faruk Tuncer is an entrepreneur and public policy professional passionate about the way technology is going to transform the future of cities. Currently, as co-founder and CEO of Polyteia, he works to enable city leaders with data-empowered governance solutions. Their intelligence platform provides cities and towns with the right data for their decision-making and operations. His previous work experience ranges from the non-profit sector to the public sector. He has worked as a project manager for the LEAD Academy, and as a policy advisor to the Christian Democratic Union, Germany’s governing party, was responsible for national-level policy affecting cities and municipalities in Germany.
Chair
Gerhard Hammerschmid is Professor of Public and Financial Management and Director of the Centre for Digital Governance at the Hertie School. His research focuses on public management reform, comparative public administration, public sector performance management and personnel management.
