Public administrations across all countries and regions are faced with an increasingly complex environment. Climate change, digitalization and a more demanding civil society are only some of the challenges the public sector must respond to, especially on the local level. Bureaucratic structures are too rigid to quickly adapt to a volatile and unpredictable environment, where citizens are well connected and better-informed through technology and demand open and accountable institutions. Furthermore, all members of the United Nations have committed to sustainable development, as expressed in 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that provide guidance for governments all over the world to ensure prosperity for people and planet also for future generations.
Given these challenges, the purpose of this Policy Paperis to narrow down essential values and areas in public management on which local politicians, public employeesand policy makers should focus on in order to achieve sound local public management. The recommendations in this paper are tailored to the context of local governments in the Danube region.
