The document discusses the City of Vienna's exploration of blockchain technology through pilot projects. It outlines two initial pilots: one to securely timestamp and archive changes to open government data using blockchain notarization, and another to implement a digital food voucher system for city employees using blockchain. The city aims to learn from these pilots, establish Vienna as a blockchain hub, and find more opportunities to optimize administrative processes with the technology.

1. Blockchain in the City of Vienna
Technology of a innovative administration
January 2017
Chief Executive Office of the Vienna City Administration
Executive Group for Organisation and Security
Group Process Management and ICT-Strategy

2. 2
Blockchain:
Hype or Revolution?
Bild: Kepayo; CC BY SA-3.0

3. 3
Blockchain: Potential and Vision
Dependence on trusted 3rd parties is replaced with algorithm-based,
distributed technology-infrastructure
Potential: Blockchain-technology transforms business and administrative
processes
Vision: A world without trusted 3rd parties and central intermediaries.
Blockchain transforms our conception of property and trust, our way of doing
business action – transformation and decentralization of our economy an
society
Substantial component of the web3 (decentralized web, autonomous web)

4. 4
Blockchain replaces trust with technology
Today, central intermediaries are vital to the system, shifting value and
power
Two strangers engage in a transaction
Since they do not know/trust each other, they have to rely an implicitly
trusted intermediary
Value is exchanged through this intermediary, which requires both time
and money
Blockchain holds the potential to replace central intermediaries by code,
eliminating the need for a guarantor
 Time-stamped transactions
 Strong cryptography
 Immutable through consensus validation
 Distributed network = no single point of failure
 Network can be public or private
Transaction
Trust Trust
Blockchain
1
22
Transaction
TrustTrust
Central intermediary
1
2
3
2
1
3
2

5. 5
Public sector & Blockchain:
threat or chance?
Decentralization and public administration: a
contradiction?  Repositioning process of the state and
its institutions
Blockchain offers new technological possibilities to
establish more transparency, efficiency an trust in
administrative processes

6. 6
Digital City Vienna
IT companies and the city of Vienna collaborate to promote the smart
city Vienna as a hotspot for digital industries
Focus and main projects:
o Digital Days ( 3rd to 4th October 2018)
o Networking, communication, event cooperation, project management (monthly meetings)
o Education-initiative
o Women in the IT („Digital Saloon“)
o 60+ citizens
o Refugees-initiative
o Digital Agenda Vienna
o „Industry Meets Makers“
o IT-Security and crisis prevention
o IoT, Big Data, KI, Blockchain…

7. 7
Blockchain in the Digital City Vienna:
a question of positioning
Vienna, February 2017: Eventhorizon2017 – first global summit on Blockchain
Technology in the Energy Sector with over 500 participants from 36 countries
After this successful event the Digital City Vienna intensifies – under the leadership
of CTO Ulrike Huemer – the elaboration of its Blockchain-position in Europe and the
world
How the Digital City Vienna could handle the Blockchain Technology
o Use it for own processes
o Proactive co-designing and promotion of developments
o Prohibition (hardly practicable because of the decentralized nature of the
Blockchain Technology)
o Passive approach – toleration and acceptance

8. 8
The Digital City Vienna
pushes the Blockchain Technology
Thematic focuses
Use the Blockchain Technology
o Gaining expertise through Pilot-/Lighthouse projects and Sandboxes
BlockchainHub Vienna
o Network-, know-how- and sparring partner
Research funding
o Including legal, ethical and social questions

9. 9
Blockchain-Community in Vienna*
Wishes and expectation:
o Thematic focuses
o Establish Vienna as a „Blockchain location“
o Information, PR and communication
o Community Building, networking, pool resources
o Sparring partner & and attractive financial funding opportunities
Possible thematic focuses:
o Energy
o Insurance
o Transport
o Identity
*Stakeholder survey, May 2017

10. 10
Possible use cases for Blockchain
Technology within the city administration
Legal affairs (Identity, register and Data)
o Digital identity and electronic authentication
o Land and driving license registers, cadaster, document-safe
o Verification and notarization, document-proof
o Proof of origin, authenticity, and topicality of data
Sustainability and social commitment
o Transparency of product-use and -origin
o educational institutions / Refugee-Projects
Finance
o Use and acceptance of cryptocurrencies (Zug/CH)
o Insurance

11. 11
Digitization uses information technology
Information and communication
technology
Change of business models
trough process improvement
Pervasion of society
e.g. working environment, education or leisure

12. 12
Focusing on citizens and processes
Focus on Citizens
Focus on processes of the
City of Vienna
Reducing barriers between
citizens and administration
Saving effort and time 24/7 administration
Focus: product Focus: process
What does the citizen need in
his/her current life situation?
Focus: demand of the citizen
in his/her current life situation
Result: new or transformed
products (and/or) processes
What processes of the city
administration can be
optimized by using new
technologies?
Focus: saving costs and time
Result: transformed processes

13. 13
Digitalization:
dual strategy in the City of Vienna
Startingand
gettingactive
Generalstrategy
Implementing and learning
Starting idea- and innovation
processes
Developing a general strategy
Action Strategy
Realization of ideas e.g.
o „Tell us, Vienna“
o Blockchain-Pilots
o …
Starting idea- and innovation
processes
learning by doing and
improving.
Developing a general strategy
for digitalization
Introducing responsibilities
and processes for
digitalization
Formulating objectives and
providing a sufficient budget

14. 14
Reasons for Blockchain-Pilots
The City of Vienna wants to…
o Learning by implementing
o Use possibilities offered by the Blockchain Technology
o Find use cases to optimize processes
o Figure out the role of the administration
o Settle legal questions
o Live open innovation
o Innovation through openness & cooperation with economy and science
o Link the Blockchain community in Vienna

15. 15
1st Blockchain-Pilot of the City of Vienna:
OGD history and notarization
Secure the integrity of OGD (Open Government Data) by unique
document identifiers (hash values) in public Blockchains
Keep track of document-changes
Go live: 14.12.2017

16. 16
The Blockchain enables reproducible public
proof without central authority
Public Blockchain
Document is created and published online
Unique document identifier (SHA256 hash)
is inserted in Public Blockchain
1
2
Record is timestamped through Blockchain Network
Interested persons are enabled to
independently verify the document existed at
certain point in time
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City of Vienna - Blockchain Pilot

17. 17
City of Vienna Blockchain Notarization Pilot
Illustration of Use-Case
DATA BLOCKCHAIN NOTARIZATION SOLUTION
Automated program that
checks for new/changed
OGD content
Hash values (unique,
SHA256) of documents
are calculated and
inserted into public
blockchains as proof of
existence
OGD: Directory of
Open Government Data
Austria
Referenced OGD
content: various data &
systems
(xls, csv, zip files etc.)
Show Proof of Document
Notarizations to users
(interested citizens,
journalists etc.) to
increase transparency and
trust
BLOCKCHAIN
Document (Hash) Timestamp (Block) Block
9b67e15f271a91f875a2cad [….] 2017-11-02 12:28:36 492792
10e0e9a4c8c78eb4464878 [….] 2017-11-02 12:52:05 492790
Document Notarization
Irreversible, tamper-proof evidence
that document existed at time of
block creation (short intervals, e.g.
10min for BTC)
Illustrative Blockchain Records
CRAWLER
NOTARIZE DOCUMENTS
IN BLOCKCHAIN
EVIDENCE OF
NOTARIZATION
data.gv.at
CITY OF VIENNA Officially published
documents are
notarized (with
timestamp) on
public blockchains
City of Vienna - Blockchain Pilot

18. 18
Solution Architecture
Show tamper-proof
record of
document
existence &
timestamp to user
Notarization Front End
Directory
of open
data
Austria
(metadata)
data.gv.at
Document Notarization stored on Blockchain: stores Hash
of document as proof of existence at time of block
creation;
in Pilot four Blockchains used to ensure redundancy
Various data & systems
(xls, csv, html files)
City of Vienna
Check OGD inventory for City of Vienna and get content;
Python scripts
OGD Crawler
OGD transaction scripts
External
validation of
proofs;
Explorer per
Blockchain
Blockchain Explorer
Public Blockchain for Notarization
Existing systems
Developed Solution
Available infrastructure/applications
Store document hashes for Blockchain notarization
& fast retrieval from front-end; MongoDB
Interface/API for Blockchain
access: Submission of
transactions into Blockchain;
Used for Pilot: Stampery
Solution containerized with
Docker
Blockchain Interface
Backend Database
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Bitcoin (BTC)
Litecoin (LTC)
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2
4
3
5
Check Hash of Document, insert in blockchain and
database for new documents/edits; Python scripts
New OGD integration
City of Vienna - Blockchain Pilot

19. 19
Description of Solution Modules
OGD Crawler script checks
data.gv.at for new data and
changes from the City of
Vienna (CoV)
► New Data  generate
HASH code and writes
in a DB
► Existing Data 
generate HASH code
and compare with the
stored HASH code
► If both HASH codes
are the same, do
nothing
► If the new HASH
codes is different &
stable (3x repetition)
 write in DB
Limited to City of Vienna
content at the moment. GIS
& Real-Time Data ex
Script checks if there is new
or updated data if:
► New or update: send
transaction with the
new HASH to
► Option 1: a 3rd
party service
provider e.g.
stampery
► Option 2: a own
API and smart
contract
► New: send URL-to
data.gv.at (Metadata)
 access notarization
frontend
► Write back the info in
the DB (transaction
y/n flag, URL)
► Notarization Front
End can be accessed
via an URL stored in
the Metadata from
data.gv.at platform
► From the Frontend a
Blockchain Explorer
can be accessed
► Store HASH values
from documents to
compare between
different crawl runs
► Store values for fast
retrieval from front-
end
► Any information can
be verified through
actual blockchain
records
Option 1: Use 3rd party
service e.g. stampery:
• Advantage: faster
development,
• Disadvantage: depending
on third party, less flexible
Option 2: Develop own API:
• Advantage: flexibility,
independent
• Disadvantage:
Development effort
Smart Contract
Option 1: If a 3rd party
service is used no smart
contract necessary.
Option 2: If the API is self
developed a smart
contract is necessary.
Has to be kept as simple
and short as possible
OGD Crawler OGD transaction scripts Notarization Front End Backend Database Blockchain Interface
21 3 4 5
City of Vienna - Blockchain Pilot

20. 20
Proposal: OGD integration
Option 2: Show link to Notarization Front-End Web
Application in “Weiterführende Metadaten“
PROOF
OPTION 2
OPTION 1
Option 1: If notarization is available (link is avialble in
data), display a New Button „Proof“ (or similar)
Interface
Proposed options how to integrate the document
notarization in the OGD web interface (data.gv.at):
Data
Proposal to add link to Notarization Frontend in field
„Weiterführende Metadaten“ – in line with OGD
metadata 2.4
City of Vienna - Blockchain Pilot

21. 21
Project Stage Planning / Next steps
OGD Crawler
OGD transaction scripts
Front End
Blockchain Interface (Stampery)
Verification
OGD go-live (Vienna)
Rollout to other AT counties
Launch Communication/PR
Solution Architecture

Use-Case

Concept / Architecture
Implementation
Test & Launch
Backend DB
October November December



OGD integration, design (MA53) & online help/documentation
Versioning/Archive
2018
Potential next steps:
Email notification for changes
Automated update to metadata
Communication to Operation
Sep 2018



Solution containerization (docker)

Go-Live
14.12.2017
Internal Blockchain Service API*
*: as internal service for cross-departmental use


Task completed
Task ongoing

City of Vienna - Blockchain Pilot

22. 22
Check Blockchain
Integration in Open Government Portal
https://open.wien.gv.at/site/blockchain/

23. 23https://open.wien.gv.at/site/blockchain/
Verification in 4 Blockchains

24. 24https://open.wien.gv.at/site/blockchain/
Stampery successfully verified

25. 25
Example for external validation in
Blockchain explorer „Blockcypher“
Transaction-ID
Timestamp of the Block
Merkle-root (and prefix)
https://live.blockcypher.com/ltc/tx/7bcc70e0522ba92d80d
902effafcc818f32ba368112b1fadce96df42b96977f5/

26. 26
Functioning of the Blockchain interface
Public Blockchain
 Merkle Path is saved for proof function
 External service (stampery) for pilot
 Development of internal service?
Merkle Tree

27. 27
2nd Blockchain-Pilot of the City of Vienna
Digital food vouchers
Daily food vouchers for all employees
Settlement with partner restaurants
Accounting
Employee gets „Food Vouchers Vienna“
Wallet on his/her Smartphone and an
own address for voucher
Employee discloses his/her wallet address
 Food vouchers are disbursed to the wallet.
Employee can use food vouchers
in partner restaurants

28. 28
Further Blockchain pilots of the City of Vienna
IoT (Internet of Things) security
Identification
Proof of origin (e.g. control cold chains)
Accepting cryptocurrencies
Participation
Your Blockchain Ideas!
Network meeting 12/13/2017 – Community meetings planned

29. This presentation of the city of vienna is under Attribution 3.0 Austria (CC BY 3.0 AT) license.
You must cite the name of the author (City of Vienna) in this manner:
„source of data: City of Vienna“
Mag.a Ulrike Huemer Ing.in Brigitte Lutz, MSc Ing. Bernd Wünschek
ulrike.huemer@wien.gv.at brigitte.lutz@wien.gv.at bernd.wuenschek@wien.gv.at
Open Government – competence center Vienna
open@post.wien.gv.at open.wien.gv.at
Digitalization, Data and open innovation
We create added value!