European cities invited to benchmark capabilities for democratic green transitions
Cities across Europe are under increasing pressure to deliver ambitious climate action while maintaining public trust and democratic legitimacy. But what enables some city administrations to innovate more effectively than others?
To help answer this question, the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP), through the Horizon Europe project GreenDEMO, has launched a new capability check for European city administrations, exploring how they can build the capabilities needed to advance democratic green transitions.
The initiative builds on wider research into how city governments can strengthen their ability to experiment, collaborate, learn, and implement innovative approaches that support both sustainability and democratic governance.
The project also recently presented a policy brief mapping more than 400 innovations across European cities and found that while many cities are already experimenting with new approaches, they often struggle to scale and institutionalise these innovations across public administrations.
The capability check explores what organisational capabilities support local governments to move successfully from experimentation to long-term transformation.
How can European city administrations get their capabilities assessed?
The check, consisting of a 15-minute online survey focuses on how city administrations:
- innovate at the intersection of democracy and sustainability,
- sustain these innovative activities over time by embedding them into organisational routines,
- and develop organisational capabilities that are required to make this possible.
The initiative is open to civil servants and public officials working in European city governments, particularly those working on:
- green transition and climate policy,
- innovation and experimentation,
- citizen participation and engagement,
- strategy and planning,
- and legal or governance departments.
Participants will contribute to a growing European evidence base on public sector innovation for democratic green transitions. The findings will help researchers and practitioners better understand which organisational capabilities support successful climate governance and democratic legitimacy in cities.
- Participants will receive:
- an accessible summary report of the findings by the end of 2026,
- and, where multiple colleagues from the same city participate, a tailored capability profile enabling comparison with peer city administrations across Europe.
About the check and project
GreenDEMO is funded by the European Union and brings together researchers, city governments, and innovation practitioners to explore how public administrations can become more capable, adaptive, and democratic actors in the green transition.
Take the survey here: https://qualtrics.ucl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_7NIQwadWcNrHAVg
For questions about the research, please contact anna [dot] kurth [at] ucl [dot] ac [dot] uk (anna[dot]kurth[at]ucl[dot]ac[dot]uk).
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