Our Proposal
A Better Way to Build Government Tech
Replace closed RFPs with open challenges. Let builders compete on working code, not PowerPoint proposals.
The Current System is Broken
3-5 years
From need identification to deployment
€10-100M
Contracts to the same handful of consultancies
80%+
Failure rate on major projects
Zero
Accountability — contractors get paid even when projects fail
The result: Citizens pay for software that doesn't work, built by people who don't use it.
Challenge-Based Procurement
Define (2 weeks)
Government publishes problem + success criteria. Open comment period for builders to ask questions.
Build (8-12 weeks)
Open challenge — anyone can submit. Regular check-ins, public progress updates. Access to anonymized test data + government APIs.
Evaluate (2 weeks)
Working demos evaluated by technical jury (developers, security experts), end users (actual government employees), and citizens (public voting component).
Reward + Continue
Top 10 submissions: €5-20K each. Winner: Development contract + ongoing maintenance. All code: Open source (public paid for it).
Key Principles
Working Code Over Proposals
Current: Award contracts based on documents describing what will be built.
Better: Award contracts based on working MVPs that already work.
Open By Default
Challenge specs, submissions, evaluation criteria, winner selection rationale, and final code — all public. Transparency at every step.
Lower Barriers, Wider Talent Pool
No existing government contracts required. No minimum company size. Solo developers and small teams can compete. International submissions allowed.
Pay for Results, Not Promises
Milestone payments tied to working features. Top submissions get compensated. Failure = no payment (revolutionary concept for government IT).
What Changes
| Aspect | Current System | Challenge Model |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | 3-5 years | 3-6 months |
| Who can compete | 5-10 large consultancies | Anyone with skills |
| Evaluation basis | Proposals + past contracts | Working code |
| Transparency | Closed | Fully open |
| Failure cost | Millions lost | Limited to challenge prizes |
| Code ownership | Proprietary (locked in) | Open source (public owns it) |
Example: €500K Project
How the reward structure works for a typical government software project.
Top 10 MVPs
€10K each
Compensate serious builders for their time
2nd-3rd Place
€25K each
Recognize excellent work
Winner
€50K + contract
Continue to production
Maintenance
€200K/year
Ongoing support and improvements
Challenge model total
~€350K
Current system for same scope
€2-5M+
(and often fails anyway)
Reigniting the Motivation to Work for Government
The procurement problem isn't just about money. It's about talent.
The Talent Crisis
Right now, the best developers avoid government work. Why?
- ✗3-year procurement cycles before writing a line of code
- ✗Legacy systems from 2005, no CI/CD, waterfall methodology
- ✗Layers of approval, committees, sign-offs
- ✗Can't compete with private sector salaries
Result: Government gets the consultants who couldn't get better jobs elsewhere.
Challenge-based procurement makes government work attractive again
For Builders
- • Ship in weeks, not years
- • Own your work — your name on the repo
- • Get paid fairly at market rates
- • Build a public portfolio
For Government
- • Access to top talent in Europe
- • Culture shift to shipping what works
- • Attract the next generation
- • Modern development practices
It's Already Working Elsewhere
UK Government Digital Service
Transformed UK gov services with small, agile teams. Built GOV.UK — one of the world's best government websites. Open source, user-centered, iterative.
US 18F / USDS
Embedded tech teams that fixed Healthcare.gov disaster. Challenge.gov runs open innovation challenges. Proved government can ship good software.
Estonia e-Residency
Small country, limited budget, world-class digital services. Open, API-first architecture. Built by small teams, not big consultancies.
Taiwan g0v
Civic hackers build government tools. Government adopts successful projects. Radical transparency and citizen participation.
We're Not Waiting for Permission
DOGE Europe is running shadow challenges — building the tools government should have built. When our solutions work better than €75M failures, the argument makes itself.
Builders
Join challenges
Citizens
Test and vote
Civil Servants
Tell us what you need
Politicians
Champion reform