Systemic Management Practices—Enabling Local Governments to Adapt in Response to Complexity

Manuel Riemer (), Randy Sa’d, Tim Posselt, Pourya Salehi, David Corbett, Peter Jones, Antony Upward, Exmond DeCruz, Bill Baue, Asad Asadzadeh, Simone Sandholz and Theo Kötter
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Manuel Riemer: Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada
Randy Sa’d: Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI), Viessmann Centre for Engagement and Research in Sustainability (VERiS), Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada
Tim Posselt: Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI), Viessmann Centre for Engagement and Research in Sustainability (VERiS), Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada
Pourya Salehi: Urban Research, Innovation, and Development Department, ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability, World Secretariat, 53113 Bonn, Germany
David Corbett: Urban Research, Innovation, and Development Department, ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability, World Secretariat, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Peter Jones: Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI), Viessmann Centre for Engagement and Research in Sustainability (VERiS), Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada
Antony Upward: Flourishing Enterprise Co-Lab, Toronto, ON M4E 2J8, Canada
Exmond DeCruz: ProSocial World, Lakeway, TX 78734, USA
Bill Baue: r3.0, 10437 Berlin, Germany
Asad Asadzadeh: Urban Planning and Land Management Group, Institute of Geodesy and Geo-Information (IGG), University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Simone Sandholz: Urban Futures and Sustainability Transformation, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), United Nations University, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Theo Kötter: Urban Planning and Land Management Group, Institute of Geodesy and Geo-Information (IGG), University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany

World, 2025, vol. 6, issue 2, 1-25

Abstract: Local governments are increasingly navigating accelerating change and escalating complexity caused by interconnected crises, commonly referred to as a global polycrisis. These crises, including climate change, lack of affordable housing, declining mental health, and geopolitical instability, both shape and are shaped by local conditions. Cities face growing pressure to equitably provide services that are responsive to evolving community needs while contending with the systemic nature of contemporary challenges. However, local governments are often constrained by conventional management frameworks and practices that do not match the complexity of today’s challenges. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to explore how systems science can be leveraged to define and characterize a transformative new type of management designed to enable local governments to more adequately address emerging complexity. To this end, the authors review the literature on contemporary management practice and explore how management for local government can be reframed in alignment with the insights from systems science, using a service ecosystem lens. The findings point to a needed shift toward systemic management practices that are integrative, collective, and adaptive. The authors illustrate the practical relevance of these three characteristics and conclude with recommendations for research, policy, and practice aimed at building the institutional capabilities required to transition toward systemic management frameworks and practices that match the complexity of the polycrisis.

Keywords: managing complexity; local government; cities; service ecosystem perspective; systemic management practices; municipalities; sustainability; resilience; integrative; adaptive; collective (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G17 G18 L21 L22 L25 L26 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 R51 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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