Case Study: The Digital Villages Initiative in Germany

The Digital Villages project in the Rhineland-Palatinate region – Germany is testing a progressive approach to the digitization of rural services in three areas: community associations in Eisenberg, Göllheimand and BetzdorfGebhardshain.

The project was initiated in 2015 by the Ministry of the Interior and Sports of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE). It will be operational until 2019, with a total budget of approximately 4.5 million euros. The initiation of a common digital platform is to develop and test new solutions, provide local goods, communications, mobility and e-government.

The project has five main objectives, namely the innovation of smart rural ecosystems, the development of cross-sectoral solutions, the creation of a culture of cooperation among local people, the integration of sustainable solutions and the development of digital and accessible solutions.

The implementation of the Digital Village project is based on the Living Lab approach. In the first phase, various concepts are discussed with local residents and local entities, later prototypes are developed. Together with civil society, specific solutions that can be digitized are identified, especially mobile applications or digital web services. As examples to date, online markets with voluntary delivery systems and local news portals have developed.

Engaging local influencers and developing flexible engagement models for locals is also an important aspect.