Some are too slow, others not reliable enough: There are reservations between authorities and startups. Nevertheless, both sides are seeking cooperation.
Not even one in three public authorities currently collaborates with a startup, and fewer than one in two with public administration. Nevertheless, 76 percent of startups rate the public sector as a "high" or "very high" priority as a future customer group, according to an online survey of 42 startups and 25 government representatives. The survey was conducted by the Hertie School of Governance and the Institute for the Public Sector.
Do startups and government agencies fit together?
One reason why startups and government agencies aren't doing business with each other more often, from the startups' perspective, is the authorities' slowness: Almost 90 percent of young companies view the public sector's decision-making processes and response times as a "medium" or "major" obstacle to cooperation. Nearly two-thirds of the startups surveyed complain about mentality differences: A strong focus on security and acting based on regulations are particularly discouraging for young companies.
In turn, the authorities surveyed criticized the lack of legal certainty regarding startups' products and services. 82 percent see this as a "major" or "medium" obstacle to cooperation.
Dr. Ferdinand Schuster, Managing Director of the Institute for the Public Sector eV, says:
"The survey results show that, from the startups' perspective, government agencies need to speed up their processes and procedures. To achieve this, administrations should create their own experimental spaces. These could be individual departments whose working methods are more oriented towards agile processes, allowing them to act more innovatively and quickly and also benefit from collaborations with startups."
From the authorities' perspective, startups need to become more reliable. The study already suggests one way to achieve this: Over 70 percent of government employees agree with the statement that external certifications for startups could potentially facilitate collaboration in terms of reliability and financial solidity.
