IT Planning Council: Joint management of administrative digitisation

The IT Planning Council is the central political steering body for cooperation between the federal and state governments on administrative digitization. Its task is to advance common digital structures, IT standards and strategies and to connect the different actors of the federal administration.

Tasks of the IT Planning Council

The basis for the tasks of the IT Planning Council is the IT State Treaty. Pursuant to § 1, the Board assumes five key areas of responsibility. This includes the coordination of federal cooperation on information technology issues. In addition, the IT Planning Council sets cross-cutting IT interoperability and security standards.

Another focus is the coordination and support of the federal and state governments in the digitization of administrative services. In addition, there is the management of assigned e-government projects and products as well as the function as a coordinating body for the interconnection network between the IT networks of the federal and state governments.

In this way, the IT Planning Council develops and promotes shared IT solutions for efficient and secure digital management.

Federal, state and local authorities in cooperation

The IT Planning Council consists of 17 members: Representatives of the Federal Government and the governments of the 16 Länder. Other people can be consulted. This includes, for example, representatives of the municipalities.

According to its rules of procedure, the Board normally meets three times a year. Further meetings may be held at the request of the Federal Government or three Länder. The presidency alternates annually between the federal and state governments. In the case of the Länder, the takeover takes place in alphabetical order.

For the year 2026, Dr. Markus Richter, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernization, has taken over the chairmanship of the IT Planning Council.

Common standards and federal cooperation

An essential part of the work of the IT Planning Council is the development of common guidelines for administrative digitization. These include, in particular, standards for interoperability and IT security. With its decisions, the IT Planning Council lays the foundations for cooperation between the federal, state and local governments.

The IT Planning Council is also responsible for joint projects and products of digitally supported governance and management. His work thus combines strategic control and standardization with the implementation of common digital solutions.

The IT State Treaty as a legal basis

The legal basis for the work of the IT Planning Council is the IT State Treaty concluded by the Federal Government and the Länder. It entered into force on 1 April 2010. In the context of the establishment of the Federal IT Cooperation (FITKO), the State Treaty has been revised; the recast version entered into force on 1 October 2019.

Thus, the cooperation between the federal and state governments on administrative digitization has a common legal and organizational framework.