Prosjektside: Empowered Governance

Prosjektside

Empowered Governance

The cities of Stavanger and Trondheim are collaborating on the development of new governance frameworks and models for local co-governance of the Cities Mission through the project Empowered Governance. The project is a collaboration between the two cities, the University of Stavanger, Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA) and the Trondheim Region Business Association.

Empowered Governance sets out to transform how Norwegian cities approach climate leadership. The project’s core ambition is to co-create adaptable, inclusive, and science-based governance models that break down traditional silos and empower broad civic participation. Stavanger and Trondheim will lead the way by testing these models through concrete, locally anchored pilot portfolios—Stavanger on residual emissions, and Trondheim on waste and circular economy. These pilots serve as real-world arenas to explore new forms of cooperation across municipalities, businesses, academia, and civil society. Through collaborative workshops, study trips, and continuous learning loops, the project aims to build capacity, generate transferable insights, and develop a framework other European cities can adopt in their journey toward climate neutrality.

The cities of Stavanger and Trondheim are joining forces in the Empowered Governance project, to build capacity as NetZero Mission Cities. With support from partners like DOGA, the University of Stavanger, and the Trondheim Chamber of Commerce, the project aims to develop and test inclusive governance models that accelerate the transition to climate-neutral cities. By piloting new approaches to cross-sector collaboration, citizen engagement, and systemic innovation, Stavanger and Trondheim will co-create practical tools and portfolios tailored to their local challenges—residual emissions in Stavanger and circular economy in Trondheim. The project combines research, co-creation, and learning loops to ensure scalable, science-based solutions for sustainable urban transformation.

Stavanger kommune

The lead City and Project Coordinator, and responsible for one of the two demonstration work packages.

Trondheim kommune

Trondheim is co-leading the project together with Stavanger, and responsible for the second demonstration work package.

University of Stavanger

The research partner in the project, and the lead for the knowledge based development of the different governance models being tested.

Trondheim Region Business Association

The business focused actor in the project, and responsible for making sure the voices of the business communities is heard and have a seat at the table when governance models are being developed

DOGA

The coordinating party of the national platform and responsible for learning, transferability and disseminationin the project.