The Munich Hub for public sector innovation - shaping future-ready
public institutions.
The Government Innovation & Technology Lab is Munich’s catalyst for public sector innovation, bridging government, academia, and industry to build future-ready institutions.
The Government Innovation & Technology Lab at the TUM Think Tank is Munich’s leading hub for public sector innovation.
By bridging government, academia, and industry, the lab drives transformative approaches to governance through interdisciplinary collaboration and future-oriented learning.
Its mission is to equip a new generation of changemakers with the skills and mindset to shape innovative, tech-enabled, and citizen-centric public institutions and support them in updating their institutional operating systems.
Why we exist
Governments around the world are under pressure to adapt to technological change, demographic shifts, and growing complexity.
The digital transformation of the public sector is not just a technological challenge, it requires rethinking how governing works. With an aging workforce, growing talent shortages, and increasing demands for new ways of digital services, public institutions must evolve.
The Government Innovation & Technology Lab recognizes this moment as an opportunity to foster resilience, agility, and innovation in public governance.
How we work
The lab serves as a platform for cross-sector collaboration and capacity building, bringing together public officials, researchers, industry representatives, startup founders, students, and civil society actors. Through co-creative formats, it integrates academic insight with practical experimentation.
With curated events, targeted learning programs, and strategic partnerships — including with GovTech Campus Deutschland, the Hertie School, the Network of Centers on Internet and Society (NoC), and the WEF Global Government Technology Centre Berlin — the lab supports systemic innovation in the public sector. It works to embed new approaches into institutions while cultivating future-ready professionals and training the next generation of public entrepreneurs at the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy.
What we do
Capacity-building: As Lead Academic Partner to GovTech Campus Deutschland, the lab co-develops curricula focused on state modernization, tech literacy, and governance innovation. In collaboration with the Hertie School, we regularly offer executive education programs, such as the Transformational Leadership Program and the AI for the Public Sector Certificate.
Prototyping innovation: The lab also works with partners at the local, national, and international level to explore emerging governance models, including regulatory sandboxes and frameworks for public interest technology.
Bringing communities together: Key initiatives include the GovTech Series, which connects startup founders and students to explore real-world challenges in building public-purpose technologies. Additionally, in partnership with Giesecke+Devrient, we are incubating a new format called "Innovationswerkstatt". This brings together stakeholders from academia, industry, government, startups, and civil society to rethink institutional frameworks and social contracts for innovation.
A hands-on approach to student engagement and professional training ensures that talent development, institutional transformation, and public entrepreneurship remain at the core of the lab’s mission.
How to get engaged
Whether you’re a public servant seeking new approaches, a student eager to work on real-world challenges, a national government or international organization looking for a trusted partner, or a startup founder rethinking public services, there’s a place for you in the Government Innovation & Technology Lab.
Join our events and workshops, contribute to collaborative research, or participate in mentorship programs.
We welcome partnerships with public institutions, academic centers, and industry actors who share our vision for a future-ready public sector. Reach out to explore collaboration opportunities at govtech.ttt@hfp.tum.de .
