Frequently asked questions

GovTech Connect is a regional programme run by the Local Innovation Network (RIL) and co-financed by IDB Lab. It connects local governments and startups in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay to speed up the adoption of technology in public management. It works on three complementary fronts: strengthening the supply of GovTech solutions, driving public demand through the City Coalitions for Artificial Intelligence (CIIAR), and promoting open-source digital solutions.

Local governments from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay take part. In the 2026 call, 136 municipalities applied and 48 local governments were selected, forming the 4 CIIAR coalitions (one per country). They are joined by the 10 Argentine cities of the founding cohort.

A local government joins by applying to the regional call that GovTech Connect opens through the CIIAR Coalition in its country. The call is open to all cities in each programme country, takes place once a year and is widely publicised through different channels.

Local governments join through an open call in each country. To take part, the municipality formalises its interest with a letter of commitment from the mayor. This information is then crossed with variables related to each city's capabilities, experience in collaborative projects and geographic representation to select the cities in each country.

A startup can take part through three options, all open calls published in the Open calls section of this site:

• Call to take part in Escala GovTech

• Call to take part in CIIAR Demo Days

• Pilot calls for companies using open-source technology

A GovTech pilot is a strictly experimental and validation project in which a startup implements an AI-based technology solution to address a specific public challenge of a local government, within up to 6 months. Its aim is to validate the solution in a real setting and generate evidence on how it works. It is not a public procurement process and does not give the company any rights over possible future contracts.

The municipality prioritises a challenge and a call opens for startups to apply with their solution. The companies that advance present it at a Demo Day, and the city then chooses the company it wants to work with. Together they draw up a pilot proposal, which the GovTech Connect Programme must approve before implementation.

The company receives a non-refundable monetary incentive, transferred directly by RIL once all milestones in the work plan have been met. The pilot has no cost at all for the municipality at any stage of its design, development or implementation.

Procurement: taking part in a pilot does not give the company any right of preference, exclusivity or expectation of a later contract with the municipality. Any future contract is independent of the pilot, must follow the public procurement rules applicable in each country and city (if any), safeguarding equal treatment, transparency and competition among suppliers, and is handled exclusively between the municipality and the company, without the involvement of RIL or IDB Lab.

Intellectual property: each party keeps the rights to what it already owned before the pilot; the agreement does not transfer rights or licences between the parties. Intellectual property created specifically during the development and implementation of the pilot for the municipality (including adaptations, configurations or custom developments) is governed directly between the company and the municipality in a separate instrument.

Results of the first pilots will be available in the summary sheets in this site's Pilots section and on the home page's interactive map from March 2027, when they will be published.