Many digital markets depend heavily on a few non-European, market-dominant platforms. In contrast, powerful, interoperable, and European alternatives often remain niche and struggle to overcome scaling barriers. Against the backdrop of the current debate on Germany's and Europe's digital sovereignty, the question arises: what role can the public sector play in scaling digital products and services, and with what innovation policy instruments can the scaling of sovereign digital solutions be promoted?

The objective of this project is to identify factors that hinder the scaling of sovereign digital innovations and to develop innovation policy recommendations aimed at reducing scaling barriers and supporting market dynamics. Methodologically, the project relies on an analysis of existing literature as well as semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders from politics, industry, and academia.