From Drivers and Barriers to Engagement Capacity: Practitioner Perspectives on Stakeholder Participation in Urban Circular Economy Action Planning

Stakeholder engagement is widely recognized as a critical component of effective urban circular economy transitions, yet many cities continue to face difficulties in developing the institutional capacity required for inclusive and sustained participation. Despite growing interest in CE governance, empirical comparative evidence on how cities operationalize stakeholder engagement across diverse governance contexts remains limited. This paper addresses that gap by examining how European cities organize stakeholder engagement in the development of circular economy action plans, and how engagement practices evolve across different governance contexts. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with municipal coordinators and document analysis from ten cities participating in the URBACT IV Let’s Go Circular network, the study analyses the drivers and barriers shaping participatory processes and identifies variations in engagement capacity across cases. The findings reveal a developmental gradient in the institutionalization of participatory governance. Along this gradient, engagement evolves from externally supported and project-based arrangements towards more embedded governance practices. Differences across cities are best explained by variations in governance coordination, economic and innovation capacity, and degrees of network embeddedness. While most cities underline strong commitments to participatory planning, engagement practices remain uneven and are frequently constrained by organizational fragmentation, limited resources, and short project cycles. At the same time, political leadership, integration with broader urban agendas, and participation in transnational networks emerge as key enabling conditions for urban CE planning, supporting institutional learning and coordination. By conceptualizing stakeholder engagement as a dynamic governance capability that co-evolves with institutional learning, this study contributes to the debate on urban circular economy transitions, as it offers an empirically grounded analytical lens for comparing engagement capacity across cities providing insights to support policymakers in strengthening participatory infrastructures.