Behavioural Change in Local Authorities to Increase Organisational Capacity

Nienaber, Ann-Marie; Spundflasch, Sebastian; Soares, André Escórcio

Abstract

Local authorities’ transport departments face extraordinary requirements regarding future mobility planning that affects and disrupts their internal business models and institutional logic in substantive ways. In this chapter, we highlight how organisational change can be implemented in local authorities to allow organisational capacity to increase and to enable employees to cope with the increasing expectations and requirements of future mobility planning. Our bottom-up approach is based on a socio-technical approach, taking into account both social (e.g., changing social behaviours or values) and technical aspects (e.g., new technologies). Applying Kotter’s Eight Stage Process, we outline the implementation process of organisational change followed in seven local authorities in Europe as part of the SUITS project. The multiple case study approach allows us to indicate the crucial points along the path towards organisational change and to provide a step-by-step guide for successful implementation of organisational change in local authorities. We provide best practice examples from our work that may help other European cities increase their organisational capacity and be prepared to cope with the extraordinary requirements in relation to future mobility planning.