Best practices: strong teams and clear ownership

The panelists agreed that the business should always own the project — IT only helps deliver the service that the business clearly defines and tests. The quality of the internal team is critical: without experienced analysts, project managers, and procurement specialists, the supplier will start dictating solutions. They see an encouraging shift in public procurement, where qualitative criteria and proof-of-concept are being applied more and more often, not just the lowest price. And finally, it pays to use ready-made off-the-shelf products and ensure that new projects do not duplicate existing solutions.

Money, bureaucracy, and the shift to programs

The biggest difference between projects is caused by the source of funding: the state budget is more flexible, while EU funds and the Recovery Plan bring cumbersome administration and multiple layers of control. Public authorities, however, must be able to work with European sources as well, because in times of consolidation the state budget often does not cover new investments. This requires ongoing development of institutional capacity, good preparation, and realistic planning of changes over the long approval process. As a risk, “inflating” budgets to the upper limit of calls was also mentioned, which takes space away from smaller but meaningful projects.

From a program perspective, they recommend taking inventory of systems, defining clear responsibilities, avoiding duplication, and prioritizing critical services — these need to be funded and developed with a 7 to 10 year horizon. Budgets must systematically include the lifecycle: hardware, platforms and application upgrades, not just “new features.” Building on the experience with life events in the Recovery Plan, it is worth continuing with program management that connects multiple ministries to a common outcome. And alongside that, public administration faces two horizontal challenges: the sensible, secure introduction of artificial intelligence and the ongoing strengthening of cybersecurity.