Case study KoGaaP – Coordination through government-as-a-platform
Germany’s public sector needed a modular, interoperable digital platform strategy to support administrative digitalization. In the KoGaap (Koordination durch Government-as-a-Platform) project, fortiss developed a scalable reference architecture and implementation guide tailored to the complexity of federal governance. The outcome equips public authorities with a reusable, future-ready foundation for sovereign digital platforms.
Challenge
Germany’s public administration systems suffer from fragmentation, redundant development, and limited interoperability. Existing digital services are often siloed, which leads to poor user experience and high integration costs. FITKO needed a future-oriented reference architecture that would support consistency, modularity, and strategic reuse across federal and state platforms.
Solution
fortiss conducted a comparative analysis of national and EU platform strategies and translated the insights into a modular, standards-based reference architecture for Germany’s public sector. This included clearly defined technical layers, reusable building blocks, and governance concepts aligned with legal and organizational realities. The study also offers a methodology for platform development, bridging strategy, architecture, and execution to help public authorities implement sovereign, adaptable, and legally compliant digital services.
Result
- A publicly available KoGaap reference architecture for digital platforms in the public sector.
- A detailed development methodology supporting modularization, reuse, and scalability.
- Strategic and technical recommendations adopted by multiple federal and state-level stakeholders.
- Alignment with EU-wide digital sovereignty principles and interoperability standards.
- Acceleration of administrative platform projects through a ready-to-use architectural guide.
Outcome
The KoGaap project shows that designing scalable and sovereign public digital platforms is not just a technical challenge – it requires a structured, participatory, and policy-aware approach. fortiss succeeded in bridging the gap between research and practice by developing a reference architecture grounded in real-world constraints and opportunities. The work emphasized the need for modularity, interoperability, and open governance to ensure sustainability and long-term adaptability. By addressing both the technological and institutional dimensions, KoGaap offers a blueprint that public administrations across Germany—and potentially the EU—can adopt and adapt with confidence.
Project partner
