Digital Testbed Framework
What's in it for you
You get access to a tried-and-tested set of technologies (code and sometimes data) that help power the world’s most digitally advanced nation.
It won’t cost you anything – there’s no financial obligations from either side.
It’s fast and simple to use – there is no lengthy sales or approval process or unnecessary red tape. If what you propose fits our government’s and our users’ needs and we see value in the partnership, we just sign a MoU with you and that’s it.
We’ll provide our stack and constructive feedback on your idea and if our collaboration is a success we’ll shout your name from the rooftops!
You can build or try out your groundbreaking new ideas, prototypes, products or whole new digital services with our world-leading digital government acting as your proof of concept
You can get validation for your new ideas or, even better, further iterate your emerging solutions via live market testing and approval in a nation-wide testbed.
Your solution will become part of the government’s publicly available source-code repository and help drive further innovation across the world.
You get the opportunity to innovate, collaborate and further develop the digital services of Estonia – a country described by Wired magazine as ‘the most advanced digital society in the world‘.
E-Estonia has always been built through partnerships. We have developed Digital Testbed Framework, because we want to be even more open for innovation collaborations and because we strongly believe in the open innovation model. This way we can build the next stage of e-Estonia faster, stronger, better – together with you!
Siim Sikkut
Government CIO of Estonia
Become a pathfinder in building the future!
Fill in our application form before 10.10
Cooperation principles
Collaboration for all
We are open to the possibility of collaborating with any interested party, regardless of the industry or domain.
Procurement requirements
As during the collaboration no money is paid and no financial transactions are taking place between us as partners, there is no need for public tenders or further procurements – once we have a match, we simply sign an MOU and we are good to go.
Individual approach
Never say never! If a financial arrangement or contract is agreed on, then this will be verified individually and be done so in accordance with public procurement and state laws.
Less bureaucracy
As the Digital Testbed Framework has been made available for free in the spirit of collaboration and innovation, no contractual commitments or future obligations exist between the state and partners.
No harm, no foul
Projects which do not involve counter-performance by us do not allow any right of claim against us by the other party. We also reserve the right to terminate any projects if we feel that it isn’t beneficial for either party to continue working together.
Early bird catches the worm
If there is a match between our needs and your proposal, the collaboration will be allocated on a “first come, first serve” basis – so don’t wait too long before applying!
Need more information?
email us on [email protected]
Frequently Asked Questions
- Submission date for proposals 10.10.21
- The first assessment, selection of promising proposals and feedback to applicants by GCIO Office by 30.10.21
- Matchmaking with relevant agencies and detailed talks for promising proposals, facilitated by GCIO Office by 30.11.21
- The signing of agreements and launch of cooperation with most promising proposals by 10.12.21
The Digital Testbed Framework is a form of collaboration between the Government of Estonia and interested stakeholders to cooperate in IT development without the complex web of procurement rules. This project enables anyone to build solutions for the digital state as well as get a proof of concept for their own commercial solutions.
We have not predefined problems or challenges in advance on purpose. Surely there are several fast needs that our government has and that could use novel solutions, for example, on COVID-19 crisis response (e.g. how to do contact tracing automatically). But – we welcome any and all ideas and solutions, product and service proposals to not narrow the chance for innovation.
The Digital Testbed Framework will provide new opportunities for the private sector, academia, individual developers and any other interested parties to develop and launch innovative digital solutions with the Government of Estonia and introduce their accomplishments everywhere in the world.
One of the fundamental ideas of the Estonian digital state has been relying on platforms or common solutions instead of re-inventing the wheel, wherever possible. We are now looking for ways to bring the same platform-based approach and acceleration to new technologies. We strongly believe that all innovation in a digital state does not have to come from lengthy and complex procurement processes and depend entirely on the knowledge of public servants.
For years the general consensus has been that working with the public sector is only possible through a procurement process. Well, that has all changed! Now we have a regulatory framework that allows a much more flexible and time-efficient approach, collaborations can move forward in a smarter, more efficient way.
Yes, this innovation allows us to open up the opportunity for a new kind of development collaboration, whereby a private sector party (e.g. a company, university or individual developer) can create additional components to further develop previously created solutions of Estonia.
For the full benefits, please see the ‘What’s in it for you?’ section above. But to summarise, the state and the public receive the developed solution for free use and the creator of the solution can demonstrate their solution as a success all over the world.
The very essence of this project is to have a wide variety of users and stakeholders to contribute to its overall success. The Digital Testbed Framework itself creates a solid basis for collaboration between the entities from the private and public sector. We actively want you to use it, reuse it and develop it further.
Definitely! Sharing software and solutions gives everyone the opportunity to build new products and services or develop existing ones while supporting the development of the digital state. These solutions can be and should be used and shared across different areas of governance in Estonia and potentially globally.
Of course! We would be thrilled to try out new ideas as long as they fit in with the overall essence of our goals. Providing a ‘Proof of Concept’ is an integral part of this framework.
The Digital Testbed Framework is open to any business in any sector. However, businesses most likely to benefit from it are those looking to use some of the more advanced and modern digital tools. Previous projects have included components of Artificial intelligence, chatbot functionality, speech recognition, text analytics and language translation – however we’re very much open to hearing any ideas that raise the bar so do keep an open mind and think outside the box!
