Katarina Lalović, Executive Director of the Innovation Fund of Montenegro, participated in the IT SPOT ’26 conference as a panellist in the session “The State as the First Customer: How GovTech Is Transforming the Relationship Between Public Administration and Domestic Innovators”, dedicated to exploring opportunities for domestic companies to develop innovative solutions for the public sector.
The panel provided an opportunity to discuss the role of the state in fostering innovation, connecting public institutions with domestic technology companies, and leveraging the knowledge and development potential of the local innovation community to improve public services.
In this context, the discussion highlighted the importance of the Programme for Financing Innovative Solutions in the Public Sector – GovTech, implemented by the Innovation Fund of Montenegro. The programme aims to connect public institutions that have identified specific challenges in their operations with companies and research organisations capable of developing innovative solutions to address them.
Unlike approaches that start with a predefined technological solution, GovTech begins with a problem that a public institution needs to solve. This creates opportunities to develop innovations in line with the actual needs of institutions, in collaboration with domestic teams that have the knowledge and capabilities to implement them.
Under the second cycle of the Programme for Financing Innovative Solutions in the Public Sector – GovTech, the Fund has supported 16 projects to be implemented in cooperation with 18 public institutions. More than €2.2 million in funding has been allocated by the Fund for the development of these solutions, while the total value of the projects, including the beneficiaries’ contributions, amounts to approximately €2.75 million.
These projects represent a concrete step towards greater adoption of innovation in the public sector, while also providing domestic companies with an opportunity to apply their technological expertise to public sector challenges. Cooperation with future users throughout the development process is important to ensure that solutions meet the needs of public institutions and can be put into practical use.
In addition to Katarina Lalović, the panel featured Biljana Papović, State Secretary at the Ministry of European Affairs; Tatjana Ćalasan, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation; and Nikola Ljumović, CEO of Codeus. The discussion was moderated by Branimir Bukilić, Chair of the Board of Directors of ICT Cortex.
IT SPOT ’26 took place on 15 and 16 October at the Music Centre of Montenegro, bringing together representatives of the IT, financial and business sectors, public institutions and international organisations. Through panel discussions, presentations and expert talks, the conference addressed key topics related to digital transformation, technological innovation and the future of business.
The Fund’s participation in the conference is part of its broader efforts to promote cooperation between the public sector and the domestic innovation community, creating opportunities for innovative ideas to evolve into solutions that address the concrete needs of institutions and society.
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