Arnsberg District Government: advising on and processing applications for arts and culture
Arnsberg is a popular spa resort in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. But there’s more to this town than its thermal waters. In recent years, Arnsberg’s district government has been making waves in the public sector, thanks to its forward-thinking approach to technology and innovation.
Established in 2018, the “GovLab” has played a key role as an internal innovation lab within the district government. It's a small, agile team of five, responsible for testing new technologies and methods to make the work of the authority more efficient and citizen-friendly.
Innovation manager Christian Stuhldreier spoke with us about the team’s ambitious goals, which include:
Being a driver for innovation topics.
Effectively bringing employees together across locations and departments (the organization employs over 2,000 people, spanning education and regional development to migration and occupational safety).
Establishing the district government as a learning organization.
The GovLab has been recognized for its outstanding work, receiving the "Good Governance Award" in 2019. However, the journey hasn’t always been smooth for Christian and the team.
The challenge: managing remote work across multiple departments
Like many other organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for organization-wide changes at Arnsberg District Government. It accelerated the search for innovative approaches to managing work. One key challenge they faced was how to enable office workers to manage their tasks digitally from home. Christian explains:
On the one hand, many of our employees were technically overwhelmed and unfamiliar with the functions of tools like Zoom. On the other hand, the question arose of how to organize collaboration so that everyone could be informed about each other's work and understand what that means for team structures.
Christian Stuhldreier
Innovation Manager
In this context, the GovLab not only dealt with the tools used to facilitate work but also with methods like Scrum and Kanban to organize that work. District government projects are not only complex but also require intensive collaboration, making transparency essential:
“When we need approvals for large projects like wind farms, we have to coordinate with many other authorities. It’s not easy to ensure transparency and provide all relevant information so that everyone is informed about the project status and current tasks. The biggest challenge is dealing with the ever-changing workload and team capacities. Employees' tasks are constantly shifting, as the needs in different areas fluctuate daily. Therefore, we need to quickly provide information and training so that everyone is up to date as quickly as possible.”
The urgent need for more transparency, clarity and efficient collaboration led Christian and his team to search for suitable software for digital transformation. They initially tested an Australian project management solution, which didn’t meet the required European security and data protection standards. After an intensive search, they finally came across MeisterTask, which proved to be an ideal platform for their daily workflows.
The solution: centralizing work for transparent information sharing
The district government relied on MeisterTask, among other tools, to manage the digital transformation both during and after the pandemic. The platform enables the authority to securely plan, organize, and track its work. Additionally, teams can exchange information transparently across departments, assign tasks, and manage capacities from anywhere — all while strictly adhering to required data protection regulations.
The GovLab team uses Scrum to plan and organize its work. Every other Monday, they design their two-week sprints in a planning meeting. They use their sprint planning board, which clearly displays statuses, subtasks, priorities, and discussions.
When the team was still working entirely in the office, the process was organized with sticky notes on the wall. If a team member was away, they had to wait until they returned to the office to view the project status. MeisterTask created a central source of information that allowed the team to collaborate effectively and transparently, and stay agile.
A smooth transition to digital work
MeisterTask's user-friendly interface also allowed less tech-savvy team members to quickly get up to speed. For those who needed additional support or had questions, 30-minute internal support calls were organized, with MeisterTask experts participating to resolve any uncertainties. Christian also emphasizes the benefits of the MeisterTask help center and the Academy videos, which were instrumental in ensuring that all employees could use the platform effectively.
The GovLab team also ran open office hours where employees could get answers to questions about MeisterTask or specific work methods. Christian explains:
“These sessions were perfect for team collaboration as they required little preparation but offered great value to the participants. Anyone could submit questions in advance, and at the start of the video call, we would vote on the most pressing topics. Any remaining questions were then addressed in additional meetings or asynchronously.”
For emergencies requiring one-on-one support, Christian’s team had a great solution:
“To ease the transition, we used 'digital first responders' — team members who were already familiar with the tool and helped others learn how to use it. This peer support system was crucial in resolving issues early and supporting the entire team in adapting to the new workflows in MeisterTask.”
Christian emphasizes that the success of this change process is strongly based on the people-centered approach of the GovLab. Instead of a top-down approach, they provide all employees with the tools and methods they need to do their work independently and effectively:
“There will always be employees who resist change. But for those who are willing to engage in change, who want to drive things forward, and perhaps develop personally, we offer a platform and bring them together. These short interactions — even if it’s simply 10 minutes at the end of a video call to exchange ideas — are crucial to the success of our transformation process.”
The outcome: effective digital processes for long-term success
Despite the challenging conditions during the pandemic, Arnsberg District Government successfully digitalized its work processes with MeisterTask and made remarkable progress in several key areas:
Enabling remote work: Before the pandemic, working from home was rare at the district government. Tools like MeisterTask facilitated the transition to online work management both during and after the pandemic.
Digitalizing paper-based processes: MeisterTask eliminated the reliance on paper-based processes and sticky notes, offering a more efficient, digital solution for transparent task tracking and organization.
Transparency and flexibility: MeisterTask provides comprehensive access to information on project status and team capacities, which is crucial for effective resource allocation in complex, cross-departmental projects and ensuring teams can get up-to-speed fast.
Data protection compliance: MeisterTask is hosted in German data centers, meets GDPR requirements, and is ISO 27001 certified.
Progress and training: MeisterTask facilitates the rapid exchange of knowledge and status updates essential for employee training and comprehensive project understanding.
These transformative successes would not have been possible without careful implementation and continuous support from internal pioneers and the MeisterTask expert team. For Arnsberg District Government, MeisterTask is more than just a tool — it has proven to be a reliable partner in digital transformation. With its intuitive platform, it sustainably supports and promotes efficient and transparent work within the authority, helping to ensure that the district government continues to work successfully and with a focus on the future.
