Municipalities are facing increasingly complex, interconnected challenges in areas like housing, climate adaptation, mobility, and social policy. Local Digital Twins (LDTs) are seen as a promising tool to make this complexity more understandable and support decision-making. At the same time, both literature and practice show that few initiatives get past the pilot phase, even though getting through that phase is essential for successful long-term adoption.
This paper presents a research-in-progress study on the development and application of an implementation method for LDT technology within the municipality of Veenendaal, based on human values rather than driven by technological possibilities. Based on literature, case studies, and an initial stakeholder analysis, both opportunities and bottlenecks are identified. The first results show that stakeholders broadly recognize the added value of LDTs, but that fragmented data, limited organizational maturity, and lack of governance are important obstacles. This research contributes to understanding the conditions for successful implementation of LDTs as policy and management tools in municipal organizations.
