As experts in digital local government, we have been contracted by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd to edit a book in their Handbook series, called Handbook on Digital Local Government.

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.

Call for chapters

The handbook will be structured in four thematic parts, each reflecting various aspects of the state-of-the-art of digital local government. We call for chapters to these four parts.

Part I, Digital Local Government – Concepts, Themes, and Challenges, acknowledges and addresses the core concepts of digital local government, e.g., fundamentals of local government and digitalization in this context. Chapters will address central themes, such as tensions between urban and rural areas, local government size, the smart city, issues of ownership and responsibilities in public-private-partnerships (e.g., GovTech), and general challenges with digital local government.

Part II, Digital Local Government Cases – A Western Dominance and Perspective, acknowledges and addresses the Western dominance in digital government discourses. Based on discussions on current benchmarks and legal frameworks (OECD and EU), the impact of international comparison on local government digitalization is addressed. Using a set of themes, these influences are discussed further, on e.g., sustainability and twin transition, public value realization. Limitations with the Western dominance are addressed and discussed.

Part III, Digital Local Government Cases – Role Models, Successful Cases, Persistent challenges, acknowledges and addresses single cases of digital local government, as well as cross-case comparisons. These center around themes of e.g., centralization vs de-centralization, automation of work in local government, and the importance of organizational size. Current examples of application areas are addressed through cases on participatory budgeting, urban intelligence, social media use, and crisis preparedness/management.

PART IV, Digital Government Cases – Alternative Stories, acknowledges and addresses the darker side of digital local government, e.g., diversity and inequalities in digital local government design, societal divides created by digitalization in local government, feminist perspectives on digital local government.​​
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​​​​​​​Based on the structure above, we solicit for chapters that represent a variety of research approaches. Areas of focus and interest include but are not limited to the following topics:




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Digital Local Government – Concepts and Themes

• Fundamentals of local government
• Fundamentals of digital government
• Size matters for digital local government
• Smart cities and digitalized rural areas
• Digital infrastructures
• GovTech and public-private partnerships
• Persistent challenges of digital local government

Digital Local Government – A Western Dominance and Perspective

• Digital Local Government and the EU
• International benchmarks and their local impact
• The role of bureaucracy in digital government
• Sustainability and digitalization – a twin transition?
• Digital local government and public value for whom?
• Limitations of a Western dominance

Digital Government Cases – Role Models, Successful Cases, Persistent challenges

• Centralization vs de-centralization
• Automation of bureaucracy
• Size matters for local government
• eParticipation in local government
• Urban intelligence
• Digital local government and crisis preparedness/emergency management
• Local governments in social media

Digital Government Cases – Alternative Stories

• A non-Western perspective on digital government in local government
• Inequalities in digital local government design
• Digital divides, exclusion, and administrative burdens
• Feminist perspectives on digital local government
• Diversity in digital local government
• Elderly in digital government
• Digital local government during war



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Tenative publication timeline

This timeline will be updated

30 September 2025 Abstract submission deadline
November-December 2025

Agreement with contributors
Digital workshop for papers

March 2026 Deadline for draft chapters
April-May 2026 Deadline for draft chapters
June 202 Review comments sent to authors
August-September 2026 Deadline for final draft chapters
Winter 2026/2027 Published book

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