Experiementing a change in the role of city administration
‘When we look at URBACT Cities it is clear that there is a common pattern in cities that are successfull in adressing the challenges that they face today. In all of them there has been a changin the role of city administration. It’s all about cities acting as match-makers and developping partnerships with the relevant stakeholders’ says Melody Houk in the last video published on URBACT’s You Tube, presenting the cross-cutting results of URBACT workstreams on New Urban Economies, Job Generation, Social Innovation in Cities, and Sustainable Regeneration in Urban Areas.
Distributive Leadership
In this blog we have aready presented the experience of the Surf Industry in San Sebastian. It is a great case of distributive leadership. there the city administration connects key players, without taking over, with success.
Partnerships
But let’s look more in details at the experience of Leeds City Region in the area of youth unemployment. There the local authority operates into the framework of a wider partnership – The local enterprise partnership – involving employers, educational institutions and young people to try to solve the problem. One of the key assumption of its activity is to develop a ‘demand-led’ approach to education – providing the skills and competences businesses need.
New forms of City Leadership
The example of the City of Ameersfoort has been also presented in a blog post before. There the city council has shifted away from the traditionnal command and control model towards a collaborative leadership – trusting and empowering citizens and local players to find and implement shared solutions.
Successful cities are cites working beyond their local boundaries, engaging in the co-production of local policy – this means ‘changing mindsets’
View and Read more :
New Urban Economies – video and publication
Job Generation for a Jobless Generation – video and publication
Sustainable Regeneration in Urban Areas – video and publication
Social Innovation in Cities – video and publication
Case Study Leeds City Region – Towards a NEET-free City
Case Study Ameersfoort
Case Study San Sebastian
source: Innovative City Leadership Video
