Overview

The Coordination and Transfer Office for the Model Projects Smart Cities (KTS) supports the implementation and scaling of digital transformation initiatives across German municipalities. The KTS forms part of the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building’s Model Projects Smart Cities programme, a national funding initiative exceeding €860 million aimed at advancing digital urban transformation across Germany.

RSUP advised the Federal Ministry on the strategic orientation of the programme prior to its inception and contributed as part of the independent expert review panels involved in the selection of municipalities across all three funding rounds. The project addresses a central challenge of the programme: translating locally developed Smart City solutions into transferable knowledge, scalable practices and coordinated national learning processes.

The KTS acts as an intermediary between federal government, federal states and municipalities, strengthening exchange, capacity building and structured dissemination of implementation experience across more than 11,000 municipalities in Germany. Work includes strategic advisory services to the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (in support of the Stufenplan Smarte Städte und Regionen), innovation research, development of curricula for the newly established Smart City Academy, and the design of knowledge-transfer formats supporting municipalities in implementing and scaling digital solutions. The ongoing work focuses on enabling municipalities to address structural challenges such as demographic change, workforce shortages and climate transition through coordinated digital innovation.

Approach

The work within the Coordination and Transfer Office (KTS) supports the effective implementation, coordination and long-term impact of the Model Projects Smart Cities programme across Germany.

The approach combines individual municipal support with national-level knowledge transfer and programme learning. Model municipalities are accompanied in the targeted implementation of their Smart City initiatives through structured exchange formats, networking platforms and analytical support. Particular emphasis is placed on strengthening mutual learning between municipalities and enabling the systematic transfer of successful solutions beyond individual pilot contexts.

Accompanying research and scientific evaluation form a central component of the work, assessing implementation experience in light of broader trends, risks and opportunities related to urban development and digitalisation. Insights derived from the 73 model municipalities are consolidated into transferable guidance for municipal practice nationwide.

The work further contributes to establishing collaborative infrastructures — both digital and physical — as well as qualification and transfer formats, including curriculum development for the Smart City Academy and national networking events supporting municipal leadership and administrative capacity building.

Outcomes

The KTS strengthens Germany’s municipal Smart City ecosystem by transforming locally developed innovation into shared national capability. The outcomes achieved are the result of close and highly collaborative cooperation between the Federal Ministry, programme partners, participating municipalities and supporting institutions across the national Smart City network.

Through coordinated networking, accompanying research and structured transfer formats, implementation experience from the 73 model municipalities is consolidated into practical guidance for wider municipal application. Newly generated knowledge is disseminated through national and regional events, collaborative platforms and qualification programmes supporting municipal decision-makers.

Key outcomes include accompanying research on implementation practice, the establishment of national knowledge-transfer and collaboration structures, and the development of qualification and learning formats contributing to long-term administrative capacity in digital urban transformation. One example is the Upscaling Smart City Solutions: A Roadmap for Municipalities, which provides a structured methodology supporting the transfer and scaling of more than 600 Smart City solutions developed within the programme into sustainable municipal practice.

Throughout the programme, Jochen Rabe has contributed to its strategic development from early conceptual stages through ongoing advisory and transfer activities within the KTS framework.

Together, these efforts support the transition from experimental pilot projects toward coordinated, scalable and institutionally embedded digital transformation across Germany’s municipalities.

Client

Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Planning and Building

Partner

KWB (project delivered partly during tenure)

DLR PT

Fraunhofer IESE

Fraunhofer IAO

Difu

Creative Climate Cities

Timeline

2020-onging

Publications

Resilience in the Smart City

Upscaling Smart City Solutions: A Roadmap for Municipalities