The German Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit – BA) has embarked on an ambitious mission to become one of Europe’s most modern and responsive public service institutions. In pursuit of its Strategy 2025 vision, the BA has chosen HYPE Innovation to help lead a fundamental shift in how it harnesses ideas, both from within the organization and from the public it serves.
At the heart of this transformation is a commitment to five guiding principles: customer orientation, employee empowerment, digitalization, sustainability, and becoming a learning organization. As part of this strategic evolution, the BA will implement HYPE’s innovation management platform to establish structured, participatory systems for internal idea generation and external citizen engagement.
Building a Culture of Participation: Inside and Out
Internally, the BA will launch campaigns to surface cost-saving suggestions, operational improvements, and standout best practices from its workforce of over 100,000 employees across more than 1,000 locations. These campaigns will create structured pathways for ideas to move from concept to implementation, accelerating learning and operational excellence at scale.
Externally, the Agency will reintroduce Open Innovation campaigns that invite citizens to contribute their perspectives, insights, and proposals. This inclusive approach reflects a broader shift toward participatory governance, where public services are co-created with the people they serve.
“This partnership goes far beyond digitizing processes,” said Armin Wehn, Director of Europe, HYPE Innovation. “The BA is redesigning how it thinks, works, and engages with both its employees and the public. We see this as a textbook example of what it means to become a true learning organization: open, participatory, and committed to turning every voice into a source of insight and progress.”
The Platform as a Catalyst, the Vision as the Driver
The BA’s current IDEENBOX system, while foundational, no longer meets the demands of a rapidly evolving, decentralized organization. The transition to HYPE’s platform will provide a more adaptive and extensible environment that aligns with the BA’s legal, technical, and organizational requirements. At the same time, it will open new channels for meaningful interaction and feedback.
Implementation will be phased through December 2025 to ensure continuity and full organizational integration. Special attention will be given to harmonizing campaign formats across departments, leveraging trend data, and connecting insights with strategic planning.
“The scale of the BA’s ambition is what makes this partnership so powerful,” added Wehn. “This isn’t just about upgrading systems. It’s about creating the foundations for a more agile, inclusive, and forward-looking public sector—one that treats innovation as a continuous, institution-wide capability.”
From Mandate to Momentum: A Public Institution for the Future
By placing idea management, open innovation, and customer feedback at the center of its modernization strategy, the BA is taking a significant step toward institutional transformation. The initiative is not limited to introducing new tools; it represents a long-term shift in how the agency operates, collaborates, and evolves.
Through its partnership with HYPE Innovation, the BA is building the foundation for a more agile, participatory, and transparent public service, one where public value is shaped through continuous dialogue and collective contribution.
A German-language version of this press release is available here.
