Elgar Handbooks are works designed to provide a broad overview of research in a given field, whilst at the same time creating a forum for more challenging, critical examination of complex and often under-explored issues within that field. Often widely cited, individual chapters present expert scholarly analysis and offer a vital reference point for advanced research. Taken as a whole they achieve a wide-ranging picture of the state-of-the-art. Upon publication, the Handbook book will be available on Elgaronline and be browsable at a chapter level. The volume will be indexed in Google Scholar, including the chapter level. During 2025-2026 we will organize this book project as part of our RIDE activities.
Overall approach
Local government organizations worldwide are being challenged to find new ways of working to e.g., find cost-efficient and sustainable ways of improving public service quality, accommodate a diverse and aging population, and uphold efficiency and professionalism during natural and man-made crises. Digital technologies are highlighted by policymakers and scholars alike as useful tools to meet these diverse and complex challenges. Digitalization and automation can speed up and improve bureaucratic processes; data from sensors in the public sphere can be used to build smart and flexible cities; and data sharing across public organizations can lead to proactive and life-event-based services for citizens and businesses. Various applications areas concerning implementation of digital technologies to develop and improve matters in local government can be addressed and discussed under the label digital local government.
High expectations are associated with digital local government and its resulting effects for citizens, businesses, and government. However, digital local government is challenging to achieve, and there are plenty of examples of failed attempts to implement novel technologies in this setting. The challenges are many and related to e.g., the complexity of underlying legal frameworks, the multiplicity of stakeholders that must be mobilized, conflicts of interest, and unwanted dependence on private IT vendors.
This handbook explores various facets of digital local government – the state of the art, successes, and failures. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this handbook brings together scholars from various scientific disciplines to describe and discuss digital local government theory, research, and practice. This handbook is meant to serve as a resource for students, academics, and policymakers working at the intersection of political science, public administration, digital government, and information systems research.
