COMMUNICATION AND DIGITAL STUDIES, pages: 65 - 75, 2020

The Role of Local Authorities in the New Digital Europe Framework. What Can they Bring to the Table?

Doi: https://doi.org/10.58603/OHTB1820

Rezumat: This article analyzes the contribution of local authorities, either cities or regions, to the new EU digital strategy, based on the acknowledgment of the need for strengthened coordination among societal actors for digital transformation. By using document analysis of the new policy documents on Digital Europe, the article postulates that the new digital policy is different from previous endeavors and, as such, more active involvement should be sought from various actors. The article lists two potential pillars in which local authorities contribute, namely either by direct involvement, based on the main ideas from the strategy, or by indirect involvement. The indirect involvement regards the building of trust and the encouragement of citizen participation so as to increase the transparency of digital transformation with ramifications up to the European level.