The staatsBox is a Design Thinking toolkit that enables public servants to learn innovation techniques and develop creative solutions. The staatsBox was developed by staatslabor in collaboration with representatives from federal, cantonal, and municipal governments for the public administration and has been in use since 2019.
Curious? Download the staatsBox for free or sign up for a training with the staatsBox here.
What is the staatsBox?
The staatsBox empowers government employees to develop and test low-threshold solutions for improving services and work processes in their daily work. The staatsBox uses Design Thinking methods and offers government employees the opportunity to independently learn innovation methods, tackle challenges from their own domain, and develop new ideas.
The staatsBox
- is a physically and digitally available toolbox.
- guides users through a structured innovation process in seven stages.
- teaches modern innovation methods.
- puts the administration-specific context at the center.
- opens up creative spaces.
- brings fun and inspiration.
How can I work with the staatsBox?
staatslabor offers one-day training courses on the administration-specific application of Design Thinking with the staatsBox. You can find the current dates here.
staatslabor also offers more comprehensive, customized staatsBox programs for organizational units of the public administration. If you are interested or have questions, you can reach us at hello@staatslabor.ch.
For all government employees who want to independently develop new solutions or are simply curious, the staatsBox is available digitally free of charge via this link.
These solutions were developed by government employees using the staatsBox
- As part of a staatsBox program, a court in Switzerland developed a prototype to simplify communication and coordination with external service providers.
- To make it easier for parliamentarians to access relevant information, a team developed a concept for a central point of contact.
- A team from a larger city used the staatsBox to develop a mentoring platform for women.
Experiences working with the staatsBox
Experiences that some of our the participants of the staatsBox program have had:
The stadtBox program provided me with the tools to sharpen my idea in a targeted and structured way in order to convince the decision-makers of the potential of my project and get them on board.
The stadtBox gave me the opportunity to independently develop an idea that is very close to my heart, and thus become an entrepreneur within my own organization. Similar to a start-up in the market, an idea also has to convince people within the city administration. In this process, we were accompanied by the staatslabor with great commitment and were professionally coached. Thank you very much!
With the stadtBox, I was able to create a stable foundation for my solution and future product developments. This means specifically: Developing solutions only when it is clear what the actual problem of the target group is. I have benefited enormously from the very application-oriented, tailored support and the networking within the program. Innovation in the city administration ahoi, thanks to the stadtbox.
The stadtBox program allowed me to work in a focused manner on an unconventional idea for the city of Zurich and to clarify whether it is desirable and feasible, and whether there is interest from relevant stakeholders. I was able to clearly identify the sticking points for the idea and, based on that, initiate a feasibility study.
I am convinced that the staatsbox can enable employees at all levels and from all disciplines to independently develop and test their innovative ideas.
The freedom to work on one's own topic that comes from daily business and thereby optimize processes and make a service for the city easier to implement was inspiring and made me proud. In a very short time, we developed a successful prototype of our idea. At the beginning, I would never have thought this possible.
With the StadtBox, we had the opportunity to think and act "outside of the box" and incorporate our practical experience into the solution-finding process. Thanks to the program, we were not only able to broaden our horizons, but also establish new contacts with other departments.
In the staatsBox program, I learned how to structure an entire project and think it through in a target-group-oriented way and get it up and running in half a year. I particularly enjoyed the feedback rounds with the other participants, as it is extremely helpful to get an outside perspective on one's own projects.
For our digital innovation program for the municipalities of Aargau – Fit4Digital – we received valuable inputs and procedures for practical and targeted implementation.
The stadtBox program really triggered something for us. It was a kick-off for a new way of dealing with ideas and suggestions. Precisely because it is not just about discussing possibilities for improvement, but about working on solutions ourselves, it promotes personal responsibility and self-efficacy.