On 2 April, the Öffentliches Gestalten meetup returned for its 9th edition. Gathering at CityLAB, we discussed ‘Checks & balances’.
The invite text outlined the topic as follows:
How do we make sure our government institutions work well? Effectively, according to public sector rules and unbiased? Specific processes and people operate as checks and balances to ensure the public can trust its public institutions and the people working for them. Some work on the inside, some on the outside – but they work towards a common goal: applying healthy scrutiny to strengthen our trust in democracy and our current form of government.”
Taking over from another speaker with a few hours’ notice, Dr Niklas Kossow, Head of Division, Smart City & Government Innovation at CityLAB Berlin, jumped in as the first speaker.
Revisiting some of his PhD work, Niklas asked: what corruption is, what the problem with it is, what it has to do with public services and how we fight it.
Afterwards, Ann Cathrin Riedel, managing director of NExT e.V., took over. She discussed output legitimacy and the role of public servants.
After their inputs and an extended Q&A round, the speakers discussed 2 more questions:
- What mechanics are we missing?
- How do we protect the checks and balances we have in place today in a politically changing world?
Some 35 people attended the meetup and gave it a full 5-star rating.