Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. At Liip, we believe that the most effective solutions emerge when people facing similar challenges unite and share insights. That’s why we host invite-only events designed to foster high-quality dialogue, offering a space where ideas can flow freely, beyond organisational boundaries and hierarchies.

Our latest gathering brought together a representative cross-section of the Swiss public sector. Attendees included representatives from the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, institutions like Agroscope and GILAI, and healthcare professionals from HUG (Geneva University Hospitals). Together, we explored new ways to innovate for the benefit of society.

Smart Innovation Begins with Small Steps

Leila Lamti, Head of Unit (IS, Data Exchange, and Standards) at the Federal Social Insurance Office (OFAS), opened the evening by framing the central question: how can we better serve citizens through transparent, efficient digital solutions? She outlined a digital transformation strategy that begins with a political commitment and leads to tangible results, such as MedAI, a software developed in collaboration with Liip.

Next, Olivier Braud, Director of the AI Office in the canton of Vaud, illustrated this vision through a flagship initiative: digitising reimbursement processes via FADA (Automated and Digital Invoicing for Disability Insurance). In a context still dominated by paper-based workflows, up to 12,000 manual vouchers yearly, the team adopted a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach, executed in short, agile sprints. The outcome? Within 18 months, 90% of cases are now processed online. As Braud summed it up: “Yes, it’s possible!”

ConfIAnce: A Medical Chatbot Serving Patients

Dr. Mayssam Nehme, project lead and physician at HUG, presented ConfIAnce, an anonymous chatbot developed in partnership with Liip. Its mission? To provide reliable answers to common medical questions. Not to replace doctors, but to support patients between consultations, which can span weeks or even months.

This is no small feat, from both a technological and medical responsibility standpoint. The chatbot relies on a knowledge base rigorously validated by HUG’s medical staff to ensure accurate and safe responses, using a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) approach. The project is still in beta, but already shows great promise. As Dr. Nehme reminded us: “If HUG doesn’t take the lead on this kind of tool, who will?”
Want to try ConfIAnce? Give it a go here.

Digital Identity: Building a Trusted Infrastructure

Rolf Rauschenbach, Deputy Head of the eID Unit at the Federal Office of Justice and Police, offered a look behind the scenes of Switzerland’s ambitious digital identity (eID) project. Following the rejection of a previous version, a new approach was adopted, one that was more participatory, transparent, and politically supported.
One of the cornerstones of the new eID? Open source. It’s a demanding ambition, requiring clean and well-structured code from the outset. But the goal is not just to build a digital ID; it’s to create a trusted, fully fledged technological ecosystem.

A Lakeview Apéro and Ideas to Take Home

The evening concluded with an apéro on the terrace of our Lausanne office, overlooking Lake Geneva. As the sun set, the conversations continued with renewed energy. We walked away more convinced than ever that human connections are the true driving force of innovation. And this event proved it: sometimes, showing is more powerful than telling.