A Bright Spot for Digital Government – Greenfield at the NRW Ministry of Finance Hackathon
Digitalization in Public Administration: Successful Hackathon with the NRW Ministry of Finance
Public administration is undergoing change in North Rhine-Westphalia as well: digitalization offers many suitable solutions for making processes more efficient, flexible, and user-friendly. To actively help shape this transformation, the Ministry of Finance recently organized a hackathon in which our Greenfield team, together with Materna, was able to showcase the potential of low-code technologies — and Pega solutions in particular — for modern public administration. For four weeks, we worked in close coordination with the Ministry’s staff to develop practical prototypes. The fascinating insights gained and the positive response from everyone involved give hope for a forward-looking, user-oriented administration!
Greenfield CEO Nelli Enns was there in person: „The hackathon impressively demonstrated how innovative technologies and committed collaboration can fundamentally modernize public administration. Our goal is to give authorities the tools they need to act more efficiently and closer to citizens.“
The Need for a Modern Administration
Core processes in public administration are often complex and involve labor-intensive, manual tasks. This not only leads to delays but also places a considerable strain on staff resources. The hackathon aimed to develop innovative low-code solutions in collaboration with the Ministry’s employees that would ease such processes and support the path toward a modern, digital administration.
Two representative administrative processes were selected as prototypes for the hackathon. Both applications demonstrated how low-code and Pega can increase efficiency, reduce redundancy, and relieve the burden on staff. The focus here was not only on the technical solution, but also on directly involving the future users, in order to take their actual needs and expectations into account. This strengthened understanding of digital solutions and generated enthusiasm among participants. More on this below!
Speed and Agility: Pega Software in Practice
One of the biggest advantages of the Pega platform is the ability to build and adapt applications in record time. This was impressively demonstrated at the hackathon: prototypes emerged within just a few days that simplified complex tasks and inspired participants to think further about the potential of a digitalized administration. Over the course of the hackathon, the team developed a solution that automates manual, time-consuming activities. The participating employees experienced firsthand how tasks could be automatically assigned to the responsible roles and how data could be maintained without redundancy. This automation frees employees from routine tasks and allows them to focus more on strategic work. A key aspect of the prototypes was also the user-friendly design made possible by the Pega software we implemented.
Gerlinde van Holt, Project Manager at the NRW Ministry of Finance, said of the hackathon: „The hackathon gave employees from all departments of our ministry the opportunity to actively contribute to the creation of a low-code application as part of an agile approach. Everyone who embarked on this journey took part with full enthusiasm and dedication!“
Focus on User-Oriented Solutions
The collaboration during the hackathon also showed how important it is to incorporate user needs into development from the very beginning. Feedback from the future users was consistently positive and highlighted the benefits of the prototypes. It was particularly appreciated that our Pega solution fully automated repetitive steps in the process flow and enabled continuous status tracking. Participants saw the time savings and increased efficiency as decisive advantages for managing their daily tasks more effectively.
Another important insight was the added value of a central overview of tasks and requests, which was integrated into the prototypes. The ability to manage all data in a structured and centralized way was very well received and showed how digital support can help administration organize itself more efficiently.
„The colleagues from Greenfield and Materna understood at every stage how to take on board our wishes and ideas and translate them into technology. During the three sessions in which we jointly worked out the foundations for the development, an open and positive atmosphere prevailed in which everyone felt included.“
– Gerlinde van Holt, Project Manager at the NRW Ministry of Finance
Sustainable Digital Transformation in Public Administration
The hackathon once again made clear that digitalizing administration is about far more than simply deploying new technologies. It is about genuinely and sustainably improving processes and providing real support to the people behind the tasks. User-oriented digitalization that puts employees‘ needs at the center can make workflows more efficient and sustainably improve the quality of administration. Low-code offers a flexible, adaptable solution that can be quickly tailored to specific requirements. This makes the technology ideal for the public sector, where every administrative body faces different processes and challenges. The combination of agility and flexibility that Pega offers makes it possible to develop tailor-made applications that both increase efficiency and boost user satisfaction.
Low-Code as the Key to Modern Administration
The hackathon was an outstanding example of how low-code platforms can support the transformation of the public sector. It not only showed participants the possibilities of the technology, but also demonstrated how close collaboration and an agile approach can create user-friendly solutions that make administrative work easier. The enthusiasm and commitment of everyone involved are a strong sign that the path is now clear for forward-looking digitalization in public administration.
Patrick Förster, Lead Business Architect at Greenfield, thanks the entire Ministry team: „A huge thank you goes to the Ministry of Finance for the excellent collaboration and the trust placed in our ideas. The hackathon has once again shown how low-code and Pega can shape the future of public administration — flexible, efficient, and precisely tailored to the challenges of the public sector.“
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