From a vague plan to a real breakthrough

So much praise across party lines and federal levels is rare. Is the “Smart City phased plan a game changer”? Two members of the Bundestag from the FDP and CDU, a minister from Hesse and the digital commissioner of the city of Ulm discussed this at the Smart Country Convention. Their unanimous answer was: “Yes, but...”

Approval across the board

“We are very pleased with the phased plan, because it has made it clear that it is being rolled out to other municipalities, that it is now really going into the mainstream,” said CDU member of parliament Lars Rohwer during the panel discussion. Even in the event of a change of government, the plan would not disappear into a drawer, but would be continued under a CDU/CSU government, Rohwer promised when asked by the moderator: “We will definitely take on the phased plan and continue to implement it.” However, this will only work in cooperation with the municipalities and the federal states: “It will not be financed from the top down.” This highlighted a major sticking point: funding.

On June 11, a 20-member advisory board under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building adopted the Smart Cities and Regions phased plan. The aim is to support local authorities in the introduction of digital solutions and, in particular, to make the experience gained from the pilot projects of recent years available to a broad public. The linchpin for this is the establishment of a competence center and a digital marketplace.

Local authorities call for a marketplace for procurement and solid financing

The competence center must become the meeting point for municipalities at state level to exchange information on consulting services and cooperation, said Sabine Meigel, Head of the Digital Agenda Department at the City of Ulm. In addition, the marketplace must be set up as soon as possible - and in such a way that local authorities can procure directly there: “Existing and standardized solutions must be integrated into the marketplace, including from providers,” demanded Meigel. “We can no longer program and host them ourselves. We need solutions that are available to everyone.” And all of this must be underpinned by secure long-term financing, “to prevent the marketplace from being shut down again after two years”.

However, it is still unclear where exactly the money will come from. “We must not be under the illusion that the federal government will pay for the municipalities' smart city projects,” said FDP member of parliament Daniel Föst. The federal government provides the framework conditions. At the same time, Föst emphasized that the political will to implement the phased plan was clear, but that the financing must now be negotiated in the budget debates, because: “Our administrations are at the limit, at all levels: Federal, state, local. If we don't use the technologies that are available, our administration will go under.” This is the “spirit” with which the negotiations will begin: “No money is no solution.”

Solid planning and finally getting started

“What we have adopted must be underpinned by a solid solution,” demanded Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus, Hessian Minister for Digitalization and Innovation, who has anticipated some of the phased plan with the “Starke Heimat Hessen” programme. “We need solid project planning, and either we do it right now or not at all.” She also made it clear where her preference lies: “You have to decide at some point: We'll just do it now. Otherwise you won't make any progress.”