The Digitalwerkstatt Verwaltung (Digital Workshop for Public Administration) is a Berlin-based initiative that provides hands-on training, prototyping support, and innovation coaching to civil servants and public sector employees, helping them develop digital skills and adopt new working methods for modernising government services. The project recognises that successful digital transformation of public administration depends not only on new software and infrastructure but fundamentally on the people who design, deliver, and manage public services. By creating a dedicated learning environment where civil servants can experiment with digital tools, explore user-centred design methods, and prototype new service concepts, the Digitalwerkstatt addresses a critical bottleneck in Berlin's administrative modernisation agenda. Training programmes cover topics including agile project management, design thinking, data literacy, process automation, digital service design, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence in public administration. Participants work on real challenges from their departments, ensuring that learning is immediately applicable to their daily work. The workshop also facilitates cross-departmental collaboration, breaking down the organisational silos that often hinder innovation in large bureaucracies. By bringing together civil servants from different agencies to work on shared challenges, the Digitalwerkstatt fosters a culture of cooperation and continuous improvement across Berlin's public sector. The initiative is closely linked to Berlin's Gemeinsam Digital smart city strategy and its ambition to create a modern, efficient, and citizen-friendly digital administration. It complements technology-focused modernisation projects by ensuring that the human capacity exists to make effective use of new digital systems. The Digitalwerkstatt model has attracted interest from other German cities and federal agencies, demonstrating the growing recognition that investing in public sector digital skills is essential for successful government transformation.
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