The Evolving Roles of Local Leaders: Strengthening Governance and Addressing Global Challenges

Local leaders play a crucial role in shaping and implementing policies that directly impact their communities, ensuring that governance is responsive to local needs and challenges. They include not only mayors, councillors and municipal CEOs but also leaders of community organisations, heads of neighborhood association, and representatives of civic or business groups. They all play a role in decision-making processes, policy implementation, and in representing the interests of their communities in local governance.The increasing complexity of global challenges (e.g. climate change, economic inequality, public health crises, etc.) and the rise of digital technology and social media has changed the way leaders develop their roles and engage with their communities. The panel aims to explore how the role of local leaders has evolved in response to current challenges and to provide insights into the new responsibilities, strategies, and innovations that local leaders are adopting to effectively address both local and global issues. The panel invites submissions of papers that are grounded in empirical research, and provide data-driven insights and real-world case studies to advance the understanding of local leadership and governance.