The Krefeld city administration has won the prestigious “Digital Award 2024.” In the final round of the “KommDigitale” specialist congress in Bielefeld, Krefeld prevailed in the category “Cities and municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants,” ahead of Munich and Leipzig. The city was recognized for its project “Digitalization and Process Management” (DiPro), which includes the goal of working fully digitally by the end of 2025. Krefeld had already secured a spot among the top three cities through a jury decision, earning the title “Excellent Project for Administrative Digitalization” and the official “KommDigitale” seal. A public online vote ultimately brought Krefeld the first-place award.
“We didn’t necessarily expect to win, especially with such strong competitors. Just making it to the finals alongside Munich and Leipzig was already an honor. That’s why we were genuinely surprised and even more thrilled about the win. This fantastic success motivates us even more in our efforts toward digital transformation. The fact that we received this award is thanks to the many people who voted for Krefeld — and I sincerely thank them for that,” said Cigdem Bern, the city’s Chief Digital Officer. She attended the award ceremony in Bielefeld alongside Digitalization Officer Claudia Kück and Stephanie Dressel from the Department of Internal Administration, Citizen Services, and Fire Department. All finalists presented their projects once again at the congress, with the exciting news of Krefeld’s win announced in the evening, shortly after the online voting closed.
The “DiPro” initiative comprises over 350 individual projects aimed at creating a seamless, paperless administration. It is designed to ease the workload for both citizens and employees. With innovative solutions such as the “Bürgerkoffer” — which delivers mobile services to senior cafés and remote neighborhoods — the city brings public services directly to its people. A central service portal and a 24/7 chatbot further ensure smooth communication. Particularly noteworthy sub-projects highlighted during the award presentation included the digital registry office, robotic process automation, and various digital citizen services.
By 2030, the city plans to make its administration even more digital and application-free. “Our goal is to make public administration more accessible and efficient for everyone. We want citizens to submit as few applications as possible — once information is provided, it should be reusable across different administrative processes,” explained Cigdem Bern. The use of artificial intelligence is already being tested in a city-run innovation lab.
The “Digital Award 2024” was presented in three categories: municipalities under 100,000 residents, over 100,000 residents, and counties, ministries, and other authorities. The award honors best-practice examples that drive public sector digitalization in particularly innovative ways. A panel of experts in public administration judged more than 40 submitted projects.
Source: City of Krefeld