1/16/2026
GERMANY, WHAT SUCKS? GERMANY, WHAT'S UP?
First Challenge to reduce bureaucracy with the help of digital citizen participation announced – following the example of Taiwan and the models related to pioneer Audrey Tang
SPRIND.SOCIETY announced its first big Germany, what sucks, Germany, what’s up?
(Deutschland, was nervt? Deutschland, was geht?
) Challenge at the DLD Conference today in Munich. The goal is to make Germany's administration faster, better, and more modern, together with all citizens.
The first major participation round will focus on reducing bureaucracy in four phases starting in April. Citizens will not only be able to vent their frustrations and report problems that annoy them in everyday life, but also formulate wishes and ideas on how things can work better. After all, it is the minor as well as the significant everyday experiences with the state that shape satisfaction and trust – bureaucratic frustration and potential resolutions can arise at the same time.
After the problem call, citizens are asked to vote on which projects and proposals should be implemented first. For the Challenge, the best international methods, such as Pol.is (AI-supported consensus finding) and Quadratic Voting (fair citizen decisions), are being localized and further developed for German framework conditions – transparent, efficient, people- and company-centered.
Civic Tech Teams will develop solutions for a wide-ranging participation stack
based on the various identified problems. Fifteen ideas with the best potential for social breakthrough innovation will be funded, with the five best projects promised implementation at the end of the year.
Taiwan was considered a deeply divided country in 2015. Thanks to the tireless work of pioneer and then Digital Minister Audrey Tang, Taiwan is now one of the democracies with the highest global approval ratings according to the Asian Barometer (Asian Barometer Survey Score was 25 in 2016: increased to 65 by 2024). In the meantime, the model has set a precedent: Baltic and Scandinavian countries are also using digital tools to strengthen their democracies, and the first pilots are even already underway in California (USA). The so-called Presidential Hackathon is also considered a model for Germany, what’s up?
SPRIND stands for the courage to fundamentally question the status quo and think differently. It promotes groundbreaking innovations that create new markets, develop economic strength and effectively solve social problems
Courage is not only needed in technology and business – but also within the state itself. That is why we are also looking for the next leap forward
in administration, education and social systems. SPRIND.SOCIETY is the first point of contact within SPRIND for social breakthrough innovations. The aim is to support groundbreaking ideas that relieve the burden on households and effectively strengthen the cohesion of our country. The focus is on projects with a high degree of innovation and risk, as well as a high social return on investment (SROI). Thanks to new ideas relating to digital citizen participation, education, social services, administration, health, environmental protection and many more, the state and society should function better. The Challenge is a starting signal for many more calls to the movers and shakers out there to help us move Germany forward.
All interested parties can now register at deutschland-was-geht.org to be exclusively involved in all steps of the challenge.
Contact SPRIND.SOCIETY: zarah.bruhn@sprind.org
Contact us for the Germany, what sucks? Germany, what’s up?
Challenge: jeannette.gusko@sprind.org
