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From office to anywhere - How public administrations are adopting hybrid and remote work models

This entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 3 of 22).

Public administrations across Europe are among the largest employers and service providers in their territories. When they change how their own staff work, they do not only adjust HR policies; they reshape how services are delivered, how public spaces are used, and how local labour markets evolve. The rise of remote and hybrid work since the COVID-19 pandemic has therefore become a strategic issue for city governments, not just a technical one.

Here we are exploings how municipalities are adopting hybrid and remote work models, what drives these changes, which risks and opportunities they create, and how cities can design workable frameworks. It draws on European and international evidence, together with lessons learned from the Remote-IT URBACT network, which brings together eight cities - Dubrovnik, Brindisi, Bucharest District 6, Câmara de Lobos, Heraklion, Murcia, Tartu and Tirana - to experiment with the future of work, including within their own administrations.

Destination branding for the future of work

This entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 2 of 22).

Remote work is reshaping how people choose where to live, not just where to work. For European cities, this shift is opening a new field of competition and collaboration: becoming attractive places for people whose jobs are no longer tied to a local employer. Destination branding is no longer just a tourism tool; it is becoming a strategic instrument for talent attraction, demographic renewal and economic resilience.

Here we examine how can cities position themselves as destinations for remote workers and digital nomads, drawing on European data and international research, as well as lessons from the eight cities of the Remote-IT URBACT network: Dubrovnik, Brindisi, Bucharest District 6, Câmara de Lobos, Heraklion, Murcia, Tartu and Tirana.

Balbriggan launches its URBACT EcoCore Integrated Action Plan

The class of 2023’s Action Planning Networks (APNs) networks come to an end later this month, seeing the seven Irish partners party to these networks finalising their Integrated Action Plans (IAPs), the primary output of their APN journey the past 2.5 years.

Two of these partners already launched their IAPs in the last month, Ballymahon (Longford County Council) on November 20th and Balbriggan (Fingal County Council) on December 10th.

Ballymahon launches its URBACT U.R. Impact Integrated Action Plan

As our 30 URBACT Action Planning Networks (APNs) networks wind to an end later this month, the seven Irish partners participating in these networks were busy finalising their Integrated Action Plans (IAPs), the primary output of their APN journey which got underway in June 2023. 

Two of these partners already launched their IAPs in the last month, Ballymahon (Longford County Council) on November 20th and Balbriggan (Fingal County Council) on December 10th.

From planning to action: Beyond the Urban partners publish their Integrated Action Plans for sustainable urban–rural mobility

Beyond the Urban is an URBACT network of ten territories across Europe. Cities, regions and rural areas work together to rethink how people move —between villages and cities, to work, to school, to services— with sustainability, inclusion and digital tools at the core. Led by Osona, Beyond the Urban has been a shared journey of learning, testing and planning a new kind of urban–rural mobility.

Who is the remote worker?

This Playbook entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 1 of 22).

Remote work is no longer a niche privilege for a small group of professionals. It has become a structural feature of European labour markets and of how people choose where to live, work, and raise families. For cities, this shift is not only about broadband and coworking spaces; it is fundamentally about people, a growing and increasingly diverse population of residents, commuters, visitors and temporary locals who work remotely.

We drew on European data and research, but as well on the experience of the eight cities in the Remote-IT network - Dubrovnik, Brindisi, Bucharest District 6, Câmara de Lobos, Heraklion, Murcia, Tartu and Tirana - which have spent the last 2.5 years experimenting with policies and pilot actions around remote and hybrid work.