5 years of DigitalService

We are celebrating our birthday: DigitalService is turning five!

Our journey actually began a little earlier. In April 2019, we sat together in the Federal Chancellery and presented the idea for the Work4Germany and Tech4Germany fellowships. Their success quickly sparked the vision of a central digitalization unit. Then, in 2020, the decisive step followed: the federal government brought us on board, and in October we began setting up an internal federal unit for digital product development.

Since then, our “start-up within the state” has grown to more than 200 employees – 200 people who previously thrived in the tech and start-up industry and are now committed to building a digital state. What unites us is the conviction that the state can function better – and that it must.

Over the past five years, we have developed digital services ranging from the digital property tax return, with almost one million users, to applications that make it easier for citizens to access their rights. At the same time, we are working on the structures behind these services: digitally compatible legislation, user-friendly standards, modern cloud offerings, and of course our fellowships, which continue to bring a digital mindset and new methods into federal ministries.

Much has changed since our founding. Across government, there is growing recognition that digital transformation goes far beyond digitizing analog processes. And with the new Federal Ministry for Digital and Governmental Modernization, there has also been clear political support since this year.

Yet one thing has remained unchanged since day one: our motto, “Change comes from action.” Change does not happen through long negotiations, strategy papers, or ideas alone. Real change comes through implementation – and measurable results.

If I had one birthday wish, it would be this: let’s strengthen implementation and put it front and center. So that the digital state becomes a reality.