Digital Transformation in Local Municipalities: Theory Versus Practice

Abstract

AbstractDigital transformation expands the possibilities of designing and implementing public policy. Governments are changing their mode of operation to co-create public policy with relevant stakeholders as well as to make policy open, transparent, and effective. For the general public, the most visible demonstrations of these changes are at the local level, in townships. The aim of the paper is to compare the academic framework of modern (smart) local governance and its tools with the state of the art in the Slovak cities. The chapter presents selected findings of primary research on the utilization and combination of traditional and digital tools in local governance realized by the Delphi method among experts in the field of regional development, strategic planning, and public administration and compares them with the results of primary research carried out among representatives of cities in Slovak Republic. Based on this comparison, the present paper identifies key challenges of the further development of local digital governance.KeywordsLocal governance Traditional tools Digital tools Benefits