Public Service Incubators (FR0039)

Set up digital public service incubators in each ministry
Lead institution(s):
Minister of State for the Digital Sector, attached to the Prime Minister
Other stakeholders:
Ministries: Pôle Emploi (France's public employment agency) Ministries of Social Affairs – Ministry for the Ecological and Solidary Transition – Ministry of the Interior. Local public stakeholders: City of Paris – Département of Pas de Calais – Département of Calvados
New commitment
OGP principles with which the commitment is associated:
Innovation and technology for openness
Challenges
The services we obtain from the digital economy enable simple, intuitive interactions that are changing users' expectations. "Startups d'Etat" (State Startups) are setting out to solve specific problems in users' relations with the public authorities by offering an experience at the cutting edge of technology, as defined by the digital startups.
These new public services are developed by independent, frugal teams working with their users. Well-versed in Lean Startup and agile methods, these teams are introducing new practices into public organisations.
Such services normally build APIs, or reusable software bricks, which form the backbone of the "Government as a Platform" concept.
These teams are focused on their impact on reality and the value they deliver to their users. After six months, the aim is to have achieved satisfaction among early users. Only those teams with convincing early results to show for their efforts after six months are maintained, which means that investment is channelled solely towards projects having had a tangible impact; a new investment strategy in the information systems of the public sector.
Lastly, the services developed are open-source by default, and close attention is paid to the contribution terms.
Ambitions
To encourage uptake of these practices and this working philosophy across government, there are plans to get ever more State Startups off the ground with new public partners (ministries, operators, local authorities, etc.) and to bring about incubators in the most advanced partners when the time is right.
The road map in detail

Launch 3 to 5 ministerial incubators 2018
Roll out incubators within each ministry 2019

In addition to these cross-cutting actions, the following ministries have made specific commitments:
THE MINISTRY FOR THE ECOLOGICAL AND SOLIDARY TRANSITION
AND THE MINISTRY OF TERRITORIAL COHESION COMMIT, IN THEIR RESPECTIVE AREAS, TO
Fully empowering the "Fabrique Numérique" (internal digital services incubator, 7 projects) so as to develop new uses that contribute to the delivery of public policies.
THE MINISTRY FOR EUROPE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITS TO
Creating a ministerial incubator destined to get the Ministry's officials (developers in the IS department, intrapreneurs) working with external stakeholders (developers, startups, young innovative enterprises etc.) on innovative projects.
THE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION COMMITS TO
Opening a ministerial innovation lab dedicated to innovation literacy and support for innovative projects within the Ministry: formation of a team and service range in 2018.
THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE COMMITS TO
Supporting the development of innovative digital services through the "Startups d’État" scheme run by Beta.gouv.fr, particularly the Pass Culture initiative, a mobile app which will allow youngsters to access the local artistic and cultural education provision with a dedicated digital portfolio.

10. Set up digital public service incubators in each ministry

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

The services we obtain from the digital economy enable simple, intuitive interactions that are changing users' expectations. "Startups d'Etat" (State Startups) are setting out to solve specific problems in users' relations with the public authorities by offering an experience at the cutting edge of technology, as defined by the digital startups.

These new public services are developed by independent, frugal teams working with their users. Well-versed in Lean Startup and agile methods, these teams are introducing new practices into public organisations.

Such services normally build APIs, or reusable software bricks, which form the backbone of the "Government as a Platform" concept.

These teams are focused on their impact on reality and the value they deliver to their users. After six months, the aim is to have achieved satisfaction among early users. Only those teams with convincing early results to show for their efforts after six months are maintained, which means that investment is channelled solely towards projects having had a tangible impact; a new investment strategy in the information systems of the public sector.

Lastly, the services developed are open-source by default, and close attention is paid to the contribution terms.

To encourage uptake of these practices and this working philosophy across government, there are plans to get ever more State Startups off the ground with new public partners (ministries, operators, local authorities, etc.) and to bring about incubators in the most advanced partners when the time is right. [46]

Milestones

10.1 Launch 3 to 5 ministerial incubators

10.2 Roll out incubators within each ministry

Start Date: 2018

End Date: 2019

Context and Objectives

In 2013, the government engaged on a path toward the simplification of government processes. These efforts were especially directed toward interactions between users (citizens or companies) and the state. The agency in charge of simplification and modernization acted on a suggestion from an entrepreneur, Pierre Pezziardi. Pezziardi suggested the government use start-up incubators to solve specific problems through digital means. [47] There are currently 65 active state startups working with 15 government agencies. [48]

This commitment aimed to spread the start-up practice and philosophy to the whole public administration at all levels of governance. It would start with the creation of three to five incubators. Besides the institutions mentioned in the general commitment, the Ministry for the Ecological and Solidary Transition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Culture expressed ambition to set up their own incubators to support the creation of state start-ups.

The IRM researcher does not consider the commitment relevant to OGP values. Its aim is first and foremost the improvement of internal processes and the improvement of e-government practices. It does not include any public-facing element. The text of the commitment does not clearly differentiate between state start-ups and incubators, which creates confusion regarding the ambition of the commitment. The action plan does not provide any information regarding the selection of the first ministries to set up incubators.

In terms of impact, the IRM researcher deems this initiative to have a potential minor effect. The overall ambition of the state start-ups is significant. It aims to change practices between the administration and its users and introduce a new type of public service. In the context of this assessment, however, the problem that this innovation is supposed to solve is not spelled out clearly enough to be able make such a statement. The IRM researcher thus considers this commitment, if fully implemented, to be a minor incremental step to improving the relations between citizens or companies and the state.

Next steps

Despite the overall significance of testing new approaches to public administration, the current commitment is not relevant to OGP and its values. The IRM researcher suggests this commitment not be carried forward to the next action plan, or that it be made to fit the objectives of improving access to information. This could involve including citizens in public affairs and providing them with means to hold the government accountable. The next action plan could instead focus on incubators that made information available to the public or that facilitate public participation. This could give policy makers an incentive to use the incubator methodology to open government.

10. Set up digital public service incubators in each ministry

Completion: Substantial

Eleven incubators were created including those of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Finances and Economy, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and a common incubator for the Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs. [xlii]