The Deutschland-Stack is set to become the central infrastructure for digital public administration in Germany. It is intended to improve the interconnection of digital solutions, promote the reuse of components, and support the federal government, the Länder and local authorities in their digital transformation. But what conditions must be met to ensure that this infrastructure remains efficient, adaptable and sustainable in the long term?

These questions will be addressed by the panel ‘How can the Deutschland-Stack be made fit for the future? Academic perspectives on infrastructure, governance and change’ on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, from 2.45 pm to 3.15 pm on the Purple Stage in Hall 26 at the Smart Country Convention.

Research transfer as a key task of the NEGZ

The focus is on the four short studies funded by the NEGZ - Competence Network for Digital Administration for the period 2026 to 2027, which are currently being developed. The results are expected to be available by mid-2027 and will provide important research insights for the further development of the Deutschland-Stack. The panel thus offers an opportunity to gain an early insight into current research and key issues that will shape the future of digital administrative infrastructure.

The short studies are overseen by the NEGZ’s Committee for Science, Research and Transfer. The NEGZ promotes exchange between academia, the public sector and politics, and supports the transfer of scientific findings into the practical implementation of administrative modernisation. Short studies funded by the NEGZ generally address current issues relating to digital transformation and are intended to provide new impetus for the technical and political development of digital administration.

Governance of a learning infrastructure

The short study by Prof. Dr Isabell Peters of the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau, in collaboration with Dr Tobias Schröter and Anuschka Siegers of DOMBERT Rechtsanwälte, examines how the Deutschland-Stack can be institutionally governed as a learning infrastructure. The focus is on governance structures that combine federal participation, mandatory use and continuous further development. To this end, perspectives from legal scholarship and administrative informatics are brought together. Particular attention is paid to how feedback from use and operation can be systematically collected, prioritised and incorporated into decisions regarding the further development of the Deutschland-Stack.

Organisational Adaptability and Change

The study by Dr Michael Koddebusch of the University of Münster and Susanne Kaletta focuses on the organisational prerequisites for the successful digitalisation of public administration. It is based on the premise that progress often fails not so much due to a lack of technology as to outdated routines, role models and decision-making logic. The research therefore develops a concept for organisational adaptability through so-called ‘unlearning’. A digital ‘Decision Lab’ is intended to make existing thought patterns and decision-making routines visible and encourage reflection on them. The study combines approaches from administrative informatics, organisational research and transformation management.

The Deutschland-Stack in the ‘Planning and Construction’ application area

How can the Deutschland-Stack’s architecture – which has so far been generic – be adapted to specific areas of public administration? This question is addressed in the study presented by Stefanie Köhl, carried out by the Stein-Hardenberg Institute, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für wirtschaftliche Verwaltung e. V. and the Technical University of Central Hesse. Using the planning and construction sector as a case study, the research examines how digital planning and approval procedures can be embedded within a domain-specific platform architecture. The study combines public administration, platform research and construction informatics, and analyses how existing standards and initiatives can be integrated into a coherent reference model. The aim is to identify ways in which the Deutschland-Stack can be put into practice effectively in the particularly relevant field of planning and construction.

Open Source, Community and Digital Sovereignty

The fourth short study, presented by Nico Giessmann and produced by the University of Lübeck, MACH AG and the Centre for Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration (ZenDiS), examines the open-source ecosystem within public administration. It focuses on the software projects available on openCode and the communities behind them. The study analyses the programming languages, software packages, architectural patterns and existing dependencies in use. At the same time, it examines which stakeholders shape the ecosystem and what conclusions can be drawn from this for the further development of a sovereign and sustainable Germany Stack. The approach combines software engineering, platform governance and research into digital sovereignty.

Four perspectives, one shared question for the future

The debate surrounding the Germany Stack is still in its infancy. This is precisely why dialogue between the research community, public administration and the political sphere is so valuable. Which governance models are viable? How can public administrations enhance their adaptability? Which architectural approaches deliver the greatest practical benefits? And how can digital sovereignty be safeguarded in the long term? The answers to these questions will not emerge solely from strategy papers or technology projects, but from a dialogue between academic analysis and practical implementation. The panel offers decision-makers from public administration, politics and public IT organisations the opportunity to gain early insights into new research approaches, discuss perspectives with the authors and take away ideas for the further development of the Deutschland-Stack.