Revitalizing Local Governance through Innovation: A Case Study of the Municipalities in Central Macedonia (2019-2023)

The paper will examine the modernization and innovation efforts and initiatives that have been implemented or planned for the period of 2019-2023 in the region of Central Macedonia, with a focus on quantitative and qualitative data gathered through interviews with elected officials responsible for planning and execution. Specifically, the study will be carried out in the 38 Municipalities of the aforementioned Region, which represent a diverse range of settings from rural to urban. The paper will concentrate on "modernization actions," which could include streamlining internal municipal processes or introducing new services for citizens. Its objective is to create a comprehensive documentation for the Local Government in Greece that reflects the municipal authorities' perspectives on innovation, the resources and methods used to foster innovative environments, as well as the impediments and difficulties that hinder further modernization of their services. Furthermore, the paper will evaluate the obstacles and modifications that arose from the pandemic during the initial planning stages. To begin with, we will examine the definition of modernization and innovation in municipal administration and showcase examples of successful practices since the introduction of the new architecture of local government in 2010 in Greece (Kallikratis). Next, we will conduct a detailed investigation into the introduction of innovative actions and services by utilizing a questionnaire and conducting interviews with the authorities in each municipality. The questionnaire will explore the introduction of these actions into the municipality's planning process, such as who proposed them and where the idea originated, the process of their implementation, the necessary requirements (such as human resources, financing, and infrastructure), the internal process for their execution, and their promotion to citizens, as well as their success through feedback from citizens. Finally, we will draw overall and comparative conclusions on the innovation actions and the transition to modern local government through the analysis and presentation of the collected data.