Local Democracies During Complex Emergencies

This Analytics Note focuses on how responses to complex emergencies by cities and regions are rooted in democratic practices. The information underpinning this Analytics Note stems from a recent survey of 30 local and regional governments from 22 countries conducted by the Emergency Governance Initiative (EGI) at the end of 2022. The survey addressed four dimensions: governance and coordination, finance, public service delivery, and democratic practices in times of crises. The analysis presented here considers the results of the fourth dimension of democratic practices. The analysis of the other three dimensions will be part of a summary paper of the EGI’s first phase to be published later this year. The main findings presented below are complemented by additional analysis of open-source databases, community engagement platforms, and publications on related experiences by UCLG, Metropolis and their network partners.