GovTech 4 Impact World Congress 2026 Publishes Its Ten Key Takeaways on the State of Digital Government

A new report distils the most important lessons from three days in Madrid and is now available to read and download in full. 

 The GovTech 4 Impact World Congress (G4I), the leading global congress dedicated to the practical implementation of digital transformation in government, has published a new report capturing the most significant insights from its third edition. Titled “10 Key Takeaways from the GovTech 4 Impact World Congress 2026,” the report is now available to read online and download. 

The Congress, organised by Kenes Group, closed in Madrid on 7 May 2026, having brought together more than 1,000 registered participants from 57 countries across three days of keynotes, panel sessions, fireside chats, and working forums led by 99 speakers. The new report reflects on what those three days revealed about the state of digital government and where it needs to go next.

Rather than a conventional event summary, the report distils ten themes that surfaced repeatedly across the program, drawing on the real-world experience of the practitioners, policymakers, and innovators who took the stage.

It moves past the familiar headlines about artificial intelligence to confront the harder questions governments are actually grappling with:  

• Why so many digital projects stall before they reach citizens? 

• What does genuine trust in public systems require? 

• How does procurement quietly shape the success of entire programs? 

• Why is the gap between a promising pilot and a working public service so difficult to close? 

Taken together, the ten takeaways offer a clear-eyed and unusually candid picture of what responsible, citizen-centred digital transformation looks like in practice. 

“GovTech really needs to bring these worlds together [the public and the private sector]. And that’s what the event is all about.”  

– Jonas Onland, Chief Vision Officer at Serendipity Tech 
and member of the G4I Expert Committee 

The complete report, including the full analysis behind each of the ten takeaways, is available now on the G4I website. It is essential reading for anyone working at the intersection of government, technology, and public value. 

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A Congress of Firsts 

The 2026 edition was also defined by three landmark moments that feature throughout the report:  

• The official launch of the WEF GovTech Compass: ten principles for responsible, citizen-centred digitalisation developed by members of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on GovTech and Digital Public Infrastructure. Designed to help governments move from strategy to responsible implementation, the Compass places citizen trust, procurement, interoperability, and accountability at the heart of digital transformation, offering a shared reference point for administrations at very different stages of digital maturity. 
• The inaugural GovTech4All Awards ceremony on the Main Stage — recognising the most impactful digital transformation projects developed through collaboration between European public administrations and startups or digital SMEs. Six finalists were celebrated across two categories, Innovation and Impact, spanning healthcare, water infrastructure, urban planning, child welfare, tax accessibility, and social benefits. This is a showcase of public-private collaborations already delivering measurable value to citizens. 

• The first-ever Mayors Leadership Forum, which brought together mayors, deputy mayors, and city leaders from across Europe and the United States for a closed-door working session on digital governance and urban innovation. The Forum produced the GovTech Manifesto, a shared framework that positions cities and regions as active market shapers in the global GovTech ecosystem rather than passive technology buyers, and is backed by a structured action plan to be carried forward in the year ahead. 

Together, these moments marked G4I’s evolution from a forum for discussion into a platform for coordinated action.

Partnership and Delivery 

The GovTech 4 Impact World Congress is organised and delivered by Kenes Group, with the support of the Madrid Convention Bureau, reflecting a shared commitment to delivering high-quality, impactful global meetings. 

Looking Ahead 

The discussions and outcomes from the GovTech 4 Impact World Congress 2026 are expected to contribute to continued collaboration, policy development, and innovation across the public sector, supporting the continued advancement of digital government worldwide. The fourth edition of the GovTech 4 Impact World Congress will be announced in the coming months. 

Media and Information 

For more information, including program highlights and future editions, visit:
g4i-congress.com 

Nadya Parvanova, Marketing Manager
nparvanova@kenes.com