The current working environment, triggered primarily by the coronavirus pandemic, poses major challenges for all employers. The way we work has changed. Employees and managers are demanding more flexibility, dynamism, and independence in their workplaces and working methods. Another aspect is the attractiveness of the city of Mainz as an employer. In order to remain on a par with other employers in the Rhine-Main region, innovative ideas must be implemented. As a modern employer, it is important to take on these challenges and develop solutions.

Three areas of action have been defined:

1. Flexibility in working hours and place of work
2. Space issues
3. Technology

Under the Online Access Act (OZG), all administrative services must be made available online throughout the city. This is a mandatory requirement. The following objectives are being pursued: 

• Secure electronic access to public authorities
• Media-neutral and barrier-free access to online services
• Uniform user account with identification option
• Media-break-free digital work processes in administration

This involves intuitively designed operation and administrative services presented in simple language.

Barcamps are a moderation method for large groups and are suitable for around 30 to 300 people. The focus of the event is exclusively on the participants with their topics, questions, and contributions. The participants decide together exactly which topics will be discussed. Depending on the barcamp, there is an overarching theme that the participants meet to discuss. The Barcamp method always includes the following steps: preparation, opening, session phase, closing round, and follow-up. 

The project idea "Barcamp mainzDIGITAL" aims to hold a participatory event for employees of the Mainz city administration once a year. The Barcamp is faster, more agile, and more productive than a "traditional" conference and leaves plenty of room for employees' own ideas and input. Everyone can participate: All participants have the opportunity to contribute topics, presentations, training sessions, and workshop ideas to design their own sessions. 

On April 6, 2022, the city council adopted the "Guidelines for Citizen Participation in Mainz." These guidelines provide for the implementation of an online participation platform through which Mainz residents can obtain up-to-date, transparent, early, and barrier-free information about projects and citizen participation processes and participate in them. 

Data governance refers to the holistic management of data used in a company or organization. It includes guidelines and procedures to ensure the quality, protection, and security of data and ensures compliance with legal requirements. This approach should be pursued holistically and provides a basis for the targeted use of data across organizations and, building on this, for the provision of open data and internal control principles. 

Cross-departmental collaboration requires a tool for joint document editing and fast, easy communication. Collaboration tools serve as tools for communication and teamwork. They facilitate project management, enable clear document storage, and provide team members with a platform for lively information exchange. In order to enable simple and efficient collaboration within the city administration and within the Mainz City Group, a collaboration tool is to be used holistically here. 

"The Mainz city administration is overseeing the design of a unified app called "Für_alle_Mainzer:innen" (For all Mainz residents). This app will present the diverse living situations and living spaces in a unified app. The app is intended to support society and, as it develops, it will be able to perform more and more tasks and answer more and more questions. With the participation of a wide variety of interest groups, the range of functions of this application is set to grow, thus offering added value."

Experience from other cities shows that apps that include all services at the same time are very rare and involve a high level of logistical effort in terms of data maintenance. In addition, the development of such an app is very cost-intensive and its use by citizens is only short-lived. Research into the practices of other municipalities has shown that most of them focus on the following topics when developing apps:

• Citizen services / online city hall
• Mobility as a service
• Culture / Gastronomy / Events / Tourism 

Several apps are already available for Mainz for the topics of "mobility as a service" and "culture/gastronomy/events/tourism." These include numerous mobility services offered by Mainzer Stadtwerke AG:

• Mainz Mobility
• MainzRider
• MeinRad bike sharing
• book-n-drive Car Sharing
• EMMA²

Or tourist attractions from mainzplus CITYMARKETING or the Mainz city administration, such as:

• SchUM app
• Mainz app

A multifunctional creative space (also known as an ideas room, workshop room, innovation lab, creative space, etc.) promotes the stimulation of ideas and creative thinking through tailor-made conditions and the provision of the necessary space and tools, with the aim of finding new and successful solutions to existing problems. Creative spaces promote collaboration, are part of a new work culture, and, when combined with the right meeting methods, provide the ideal breeding ground for innovation. As part of the "Workplace of the Future" project, this is to be implemented and tested in the Große Bleiche town hall and then implemented holistically in the new town hall. 

There are many ways in which robotic process automation (RPA) can be used in public administration. Standard tasks in particular can be automated using RPA. This enables citizens to receive answers to general questions within a short period of time. At the same time, the administration sees a reduction in the number of traditional administrative tasks, allowing it to focus on more relevant issues. The technology will become established in public administration, especially in the long term. The project idea aims to simplify administrative processes in Mainz using RPA. Possible examples include digital processing of the misappropriation statute and passport applications.