Workshop at Forum Kommunal 2026: Resilient Municipalities – From Analysis to Action!
At Forum Kommunal 2026, which took place in Bingen from August 25 to 27, 2026, Birte Kruse-Gobrecht and Dr. Anke Butscher from corsus led a workshop on the topic “Resilient Municipalities – From Analysis to Action.” The focus was on how municipalities can strengthen their resilience in the face of current and future challenges such as climate change, skilled labor shortages, and social polarization.
The workshop began with an introduction and icebreaker, followed by a keynote presentation on the 5-Dimensions Resilience Model.
- Social resilience addresses issues such as integration, poverty, social inequality, diversity, and intergenerational cooperation. The focus is on participation and collaboration, as well as strengthening social networks within the municipality. The goal is to make municipalities collectively resilient in times of crisis.
- Ecological resilience addresses climate protection, climate adaptation, sustainable urban development, resource consumption, and energy. The focus is on governance structures, as well as reducing resource consumption and adapting to the impacts of climate change, to increase the community’s resilience.
- Personnel resilience focuses on employee collaboration, human resources development and management, values, attitudes, and intermunicipal cooperation. The goal is to retain and attract employees and to meet increasing demands through strong leadership and communication.
- Structural resilience addresses agility, project and process management, digitalization, the use of AI, and organizational development. The focus is on professionalizing administrative practices and organizational culture to promote flexibility and a solution-oriented approach.
- Democratic resilience brings together diverse perspectives, participation, and the management of resistance. The focus is on cooperation between the administration and the political sphere, building trust, and the involvement of civil society. The goal is to strengthen cohesion, promote impact-oriented work for the common good, and foster democratic resilience, inclusion, and diversity.
During one phase of the workshop, participants identified both strengths and areas requiring action in their municipalities. At three thematic roundtables, initial strategies for building greater resilience were outlined:
- Structural resilience: Volunteer work functions very well in many municipalities. Problem-solving efforts at the municipal level also demonstrate that local approaches are often effective. The greatest challenges, however, lie in the courage to make decisions, demographic shifts in volunteer work, and the lack of diversity in municipal councils, for example, in terms of age, occupation, or gender. As initial solutions, experimental clauses, more agile process management, and more time and resources for the preparatory phase (“Phase 0”) were proposed.
- Personnel Resilience: Positive aspects include openness to internal support, a shared vision between politics and administration, and the strengthening of personal resources through intermunicipal cooperation. Challenges, however, lie in effective personnel management, transparent communication, and the financial situation of municipalities. Training for managers, targeted personnel development, and strengthening intermunicipal cooperation were cited as initial measures.
- Democratic resilience: Neighborhood walks, dialogues, and social media coverage that promote citizen participation have already proven successful. Challenges include polarization, diffuse dissatisfaction, managing expectations, and the dynamic between politics and administration. As initial levers for change, the discussion focused on more dialogue formats, transparent communication, and strengthening citizen participation.
The workshop demonstrated that resilience is not a matter of chance, but rather the result of targeted structures and measures. Participants left with concrete ideas on how to strengthen the five dimensions of resilience in their municipalities. A key finding: the courage to make decisions, more room for innovation, and strong collaboration between the administration, politicians, and civil society are crucial to ensuring municipalities’ ability to act. And there are already some particularly good initiatives; for example, Re:Form, as an “Alliance for the State of Tomorrow,” brings together administrative pioneers from the federal, state, and local levels.
corsus supports municipalities and cities in identifying effective levers for change, developing strategic directions, and determining key factors for sustainable municipal and urban development. Do you need support with this? Please feel free to contact us!
