Over two days, representatives from city departments focused on enhancing urban services by addressing the actual needs of residents. This resulted in a rethinking of digitalization strategies.
The two-day event titled “Creative Hackathon: From Idea to Implementation” was organized by the Department of Information Technologies. Held on June 18-19, it brought together representatives from 12 city government departments, aiming to integrate service design into the development of digital services.
“Today, as we work on digitalization, it is crucial not just to digitize processes but to understand how they work for residents. Therefore, at the start of developing new services, we focus on user experience research,” said Victoria Itskovich, head of the Department of Information Technologies.
During the event, participants explored real resident requests, analyzed specific situations, and rethought existing services. The program included practical interviews with residents and work on real case studies.
“We had several important goals: to identify change leaders within the departments and provide them with practical research skills. Each participant conducted interviews, studied real situations, and generated insights,” added Victoria Itskovich.
The format of the event was practical, focusing on real issues. Participants formed teams to study and enhance key services selected based on feedback from over 19,000 residents through the “Kyiv Digital” application:
- application for the energy efficiency program 70/30;
- service guide for veterans;
- permit for outdoor cafes;
- electronic petitions service.
By the end of the event:
- internal change agents were identified;
- a list of priority services needing digitalization was created;
- the practice of research sprints was initiated.
Participants included the Department of Housing and Communal Infrastructure, the Department of Social Policy, and others.
Organizers emphasize that digital transformation is a team effort, and only through collaboration can services be developed to meet residents' needs.
“We plan to make such design sprints a regular practice to improve digital services,” concluded Victoria Itskovich.
