Last Updated on 23. September 2025 by mgm-marketing

Digitalisation despite tight budgets – is that even possible? In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the answer is yes – if you take cooperation seriously, manage processes clearly and tackle digital projects together. In an interview with Marcus Warnke from mgm consulting partners, Hauke Rickertsen, OZG coordinator at the Ministry of the Interior of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Raik Writschan, head of digitalisation for the city of Rostock, talk about what they have learned from the OZG implementation programme.

In conversation: Hauke Rickertsen, Administrative Digitalisation Officer, OZG, SDG and Register Modernisation Coordinator for the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Raik Writschan, Head of Digitalisation for the City of Rostock
Moderator: Marcus Warnke, Manager and Project Consultant, mgm consulting partners
Length: 53 minutes

Listen to the podcast

The most important points at a glance

Three years of OZG: What remains, what will continue?

The Online Access Act (OZG) was not just a law, but also the impetus for structural change. In the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a new form of cooperation between the state, municipalities and specialist departments emerged, coordinated by a central programme management team. What was unfamiliar at first became the new normal.

Successful implementation is a cultural issue from the outset – without trust and a common goal, it won’t work.

Hauke Rickertsen

From a flood of projects to portfolio management

During implementation, MV developed clear portfolio and prioritisation mechanisms to make efficient use of scarce resources. Whether EfA services, in-house developments or register modernisation: the motto was to digitise what really makes a difference – for the administration, citizens and the economy.

Municipal power: Rostock’s role as a pilot municipality

Rostock showed how much a municipality can achieve when it works professionally and cooperates strategically with the state. Early on, a dedicated team of project managers was set up, new methods were introduced and binding expectation management was established.

We knew that we couldn’t do it alone, so we understood digitalisation as a joint task from the outset.

Raik Writschan

Production instead of individual cases: thinking about digitalisation on an industrial scale

An important lesson was that standardisation works. MV established so-called ‘production lines’ – reusable, defined processes for developing online services. This resulted in scalable structures on which further digitalisation projects are now based, for example in the areas of register modernisation and end-to-end automation.

Consider governance from the outset

What many realise too late is that even good projects fizzle out without clear responsibilities, operating models and sustainability strategies. MV has actively addressed these governance issues and established initial structures for long-term operation.

Conclusion: Digitalisation needs structure – and the courage to cooperate

The OZG experience in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania shows that even with limited resources, a lot can be achieved when all levels – state, municipalities, departments – join forces. Instead of waiting for new laws, things were simply done, standardised and consolidated. Digitalisation does not begin with technology – it begins with the will to take responsibility together.

Best practice dialogue on the topic at the Future Congress on State and Administration

On 23 June at 2:30 p.m., Marcus Warnke will continue the discussion in a best practice dialogue at the Future Congress on Government and Administration 2025. Under the title ‘More digitalisation on a tight budget – centralised management of projects and portfolios’, he will discuss the topic with:

• Matthi Bolte-Richter, Managing Director of IT-Verbund Schleswig-Holstein (ITV.SH)
• Ernst Bürger, State Secretary for Justice and Digitalisation and IT Commissioner for the State of Brandenburg
• Jörn Riedel, CIO of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
• Hauke Rickertsen, Advisor for Administrative Digitalisation, OZG, SDG and Register Modernisation Coordinator for the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

We cordially invite you to attend and look forward to a lively discussion with tangible results.