Project Advisory

We support public administrations through innovation and transformation projects. Our clients are administrations that want to make a change. Since 2017, we have successfully collaborated with more than 70 administrations at the municipal, cantonal, and federal level.

We support administrations in the following areas, among others:

Developing Strategies

We help authorities develop and implement future-proof strategies.

With the Swiss National Library, we implemented a participatory strategy design process that involved both internal and external stakeholders and focused on the needs of users.
We assisted the Cantonal Government of Lucerne in developing a pioneering strategy for the canton in managing digital transformation in the economy, the society, and the public administration.
We supported the Swiss Conference for Vocational, Educational, and Career Guidance in responding quickly and effectively to new technological developments.

Fostering Innovation Culture

We help administrations find new and effective ways to achieve their goals more efficiently and effectively.

Together with the Federal Office of Personnel, we developed a fellowship program that promotes innovation in the federal administration.
With the City of Zurich, we designed and implemented an annual intrapreneurship program that enables employees to develop and test their own ideas for improving the city administration.

Promoting Collaboration

We promote effective collaboration within teams, departments, and across organizational boundaries.

For the Canton of Zurich, we established and facilitated a Community of Practice that supports knowledge exchange on the topic of participation across administrations.
At the cantonal level, we accompanied a committee with representatives from child and youth welfare stakeholder groups within the context of a cantonal legislative reform.
In a German-speaking canton, we fostered cross-organizational collaboration among a 20-member working group with representatives from the public administration and civil society focused on implementing the Istanbul Convention.

Encouraging User-Centricity

We support administrations with Design Thinking to help them align their activities more closely with the needs of users.

Together with the Canton of Zurich's Coordination Office for Disability Rights, we used Design Thinking to support municipalities of Zurich in implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Based on the "staatsBox," our Design Thinking toolkit, we supported teams of employees from the Federal Parliamentary Services to purposefully advance their innovation ideas.

Optimizing Services

We assist administrations in developing new services and improving existing ones.

With the State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation, we developed a digital platform for the recognition of foreign vocational diplomas through user journey workshops and the involvement of institutional stakeholders.
We supported the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in optimizing their digital services using service design analyses and good practices from other countries and industries.
For the Federal Council Coronavirus Unit dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, we set up a civil society contact point with the purpose of gathering civil society concerns and making them visible to the crisis team.

Developing Organizations

We help administrations shape their organizational structures to be forward-looking and effective.

We are supporting the Federal Office of Public Health in transforming from a traditional expert organization into a co-creative one.
We assisted the management of a municipal administration in shifting organizational development for their 200+ employees towards self-organization.
We supported the City of Aarau in revising existing tools for impact-oriented public management.

Conducting Analyses

We prepare concise, easily understandable analyses and reports that have an impact.

For a federal administration unit, we analyzed and evaluated various personnel development models.
We supported Waste Disposal and Recycling of the City of Bern in evaluating their color-bag separation system through user journey workshops.

Communicating Effectively

We design and accompany communication measures and campaigns.

Together with the Blue Cross Switzerland and the Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions, we launched Dry January in Switzerland, a campaign that raises awareness for responsible alcohol consumption.
To further increase employer attractiveness and enhance associated communication measures, we developed a personnel marketing concept with the City of Aarau.

Inspiring Executives

We design and facilitate innovative event formats that inspire and motivate executives in public administrations.

For the City of Winterthur, we developed the concept and facilitated a one-day executive retreat.
We facilitated a two-day retreat of the Steering Committee on Intervention in Natural Hazards with 20 participants.
For the City of St. Gallen, we conducted various online lunch events for the city administration's executive staff.

Why staatslabor? We differ from other consulting service providers in the innovation sector by:

… specializing exclusively in projects for public administration in Switzerland.
… having proven tools to support public administrations (e.g., the staatsBox for teaching user-centric methods).
… being able to draw on a large network of innovation practitioners in the field of public services.
… guaranteeing a multi-perspective approach with our diverse team and broad network of experts in Switzerland and abroad.

Do you have a project idea or would you like to learn more about our services? Contact us: +41 31 539 18 59 or hello@staatslabor.ch