Describe once what a solution must do.
Then procure together.
This is where the standards emerge under which municipalities tender jointly. Open, versioned, usable by every municipality.
Each municipality on its own. Every time from scratch.
Municipalities invest billions every year in the same projects. Almost every one is planned, tendered and financed individually.
11,000
municipalities: cities, towns and districts
€231 bn
investment backlog of the municipalities
€69 bn
of that in schools alone
Sources: Destatis municipal register 06/2026; KfW Municipal Panel 2026.
That is laborious for municipalities and providers, prevents economies of scale and keeps private capital away. The system blocks itself.
Many municipalities. One standard. One tender.
Taking school construction as the example.
136
municipalities
are planning a school right now.
1
standard
describes what the school must do and how it is procured.
1
tender
for all municipalities that want to join.
That works for any project that many municipalities have at the same time.
More than a list of requirements.
A standard is the complete procurement template: from the requirements kit to the financing concept.
Example
Standard
School construction
Open format OpenM3S · Version 0.1
Requirements catalogue
Procurement route
Financing concept
Implementation plan
Impact measurement
- Solution-neutral All services described in modules, no products prescribed. Ready to configure.
- Tender-ready Legally reviewed, through to call-off. No procedure of your own needed.
- Financeable Grants planned in. Private capital can be activated where it fits.
- Fully planned Every step prepared through to handover. No dead ends.
- Measurable Metrics from day one. Evidence for council and funders.
OpenM3S is the open format that .GUT developed for standardised municipal solutions. Every standard has the same structure, so that any municipality can tender under it and any provider can bid.
Standards that fit every municipality.
Municipalities build on what already works elsewhere. Providers deliver in series instead of one-offs.
That this works is shown by the GdW framework agreement for serial construction, the modular school buildings in Berlin and the Hamburger Häuser. Each for a single owner. .GUT does it for all municipalities.
How a standard comes about.
Three steps, each with a result.
- 1
Municipalities report what they plan · Pool
Municipalities name their projects. As soon as enough plan the same, work on the standard begins. - 2
Standards workshop · Standardise
The municipalities describe what the solution must do. Providers say what of it can be delivered and align to it. Result: the standard, in versions up to adoption. - 3
Joint framework agreement · Procure
Municipalities that want to tender jointly under the standard and call off what they need. Providers bid once and deliver to many. The award stays with the municipalities, .GUT supports as a neutral party.
Projects.
What municipalities are working on right now, and what comes next. You deliver for one of them? For solution providers
Pooling demand
School construction and renovation
150 to 200 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Renewing drinking water networks
around 12,000 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Social housing in series
around 600 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Energy retrofit of public buildings
around 3,700 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Repowering municipal wind farms
around 100 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Local heating network
around 165 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Sewage sludge recovery
around 60 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Assisted living for older people
around 330 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Electric bus fleets
around 100 a year in Germany.
Pooling demand
Protecting critical infrastructure
around 5,400 a year in Germany.
Planning something else?
Tell us, and we check whether it can be pooled.
.GUT estimates based on the KfW Municipal Panel, dena, KEA, DGfdB and association statistics. As of September 2026.
Frequently asked questions.
Do I commit to anything if my municipality joins?
To no purchase. Whether your municipality procures under a standard is its own decision, when the time comes. Whoever joins exchanges with other municipalities and describes with them what the solution must do. Nothing more.
What does a standard cost us?
Nothing. Standards are created with municipalities, not at their expense. The work on them is paid for by the providers that align their solutions to them.
May we adopt a standard directly into our tender?
Yes, from the adopted version on. A standard is a product-neutral specification with test criteria. It describes what the solution must do, not which product it should be. That is why it can be adopted into a procurement procedure, even without .GUT.
Who is the contracting authority for the joint framework agreement?
Procurement stays in municipal hands. Which body runs the procedure is decided by the participating municipalities once the standard is in place, and they decide on the award. .GUT prepares the procedure and takes most of the work off the municipalities, but remains a neutral party: neither contracting authority nor contractual partner for delivery.
Providers sit at the table in the workshop. Is that a problem for procurement?
On the contrary, it is the route procurement law provides for this: before a procedure, contracting authorities may explore the market. The standard is published before anything is tendered and describes requirements, not products. Every provider reads the same, whether they were in the workshop or not. We document who contributed to what.
Does our solution have to match the standard exactly?
The standard says what the solution must do, not how. How your solution meets the requirements is your business. Any solution provider that meets them can bid for the framework agreement, even without having been in the workshop.
Is there always only one standard per project?
No. For a project like school construction there can be several, for instance as purchase or as rental with operation. Which one a municipality uses is its decision when it procures.
Who owns a standard?
Nobody alone. Standards are open, versioned and published from the adopted version on. .GUT issues and maintains them; any municipality and any provider may use them.
Questions about this area? 20 minutes, online.
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Municipalities say what they plan. Providers bring their solution in.