Genève Lab’s main goal is to help improve public administration services by involving local stakeholders including citizens, SMEs and academic institutions in digital innovation projects. In doing so Genève Lab contributes to regional dynamics that promote sustainable development of civil society, the economy and the environment in Geneva.

Description of Concept:

Genève Lab’s mission is to foster the digital transformation of Geneva’s cantonal public administration. We fulfil this mission by acting in three main dimensions:

1) raising the level of awareness for all stakeholders of challenges and opportunities linked to the digital transformation;

2) guiding and supporting projects in their innovation endeavors (co-creation, prototyping, experimentation, multidisciplinarity);

3) promoting the quadruple-helix approach whereby government, industry, academia and civil participants work together to co-create the future and drive structural change far beyond the scope of what any one organization or person could do alone.

Co-creation is central to Genève Lab’s approach to innovation. We believe that the value generated by our innovation process is greater when solutions are co-designed with their intended users because they generally better fit the needs and meet expectations.

This is clearly true for projects conducted within the public administration, relying mostly on service design. When working in partnership with private companies on their innovative technologies, we provide companies with the legitimacy and trust that comes from working with and for the State. Additionally this will help them provide solutions that better fit the needs of their users and guarantee an easier appropriation.

We also view co-creation as a way to empower both civil servants and all stakeholders involved in the projects, hence enhancing commitment to the success of “their” project.

Genève Lab was created to foster digital innovation in public sector projects. As such, it provides insights in co-creation processes; in multidisciplinary approaches and in iterative prototyping and experimentation techniques. Beyond this direct contribution, Genève Lab intends to capitalize on the results and feedback of each project that has positive environmental, social and economic impact and leverage them in future projects across the public administration.

References and Track Record:

As a Living Lab dedicated to public sector initiatives, Genève Lab is in direct contact with more than 40 public administration departments of the State of Geneva and affiliated public sector organizations such as hospitals, utilities, public transport authority, airport, as well as public administrations of 45 municipalities of the canton of Geneva, including the City of Geneva.

Genève Lab can also rely on a network of about 100 partner organizations with skills and resources that can be mobilized depending on project needs. These include academic laboratories, coworking spaces, public innovation labs, SME, startups, civil society associations, foundations and startup incubators. All these partners are invaluable channels for getting citizens and businesses involved in our approach.

Additionally we consistently integrate citizens in our work through dedicated events, surveys, or direct participation in projects.

Genève Lab actively contributes to the success of various projects by helping them to:

• first co-define the agreed problematics and then co-design the desired solutions;

• improve the accessibility of web pages or design digital services in a user centric perspective;

• prototype and experiment innovative technological solutions for the public sector while involving local SMEs;

• adopt user centric methods and tools to solve organizational problems.

Moreover, Genève Lab is instrumental in organizing and facilitating the co-creation by local stakeholders of the State of Geneva’s “Digital Policy” and “Smart City” programs. Both of these initiatives are supported by the State Government and are central to its long-term commitment to sustainable development.

For examples of current projects, please visit our blog (https://www.ge.ch/blog/geneve-lab).