Orchestration of Climate Action in Municipalities: A Collective Capacity Approach

ABSTRACT Municipalities are increasingly positioned as key actors in enabling local climate action, yet their ability to mobilise societal actors remains insufficiently understood. This study examines how municipal officials in six Finnish municipalities from different local contexts understand and operationalise collective capacity for climate action, with particular attention to how they orchestrate collaboration within the administration, with residents and other local actors and beyond municipal boundaries. Building on capacity building and transition governance literatures, we developed an analytical framework distinguishing three domains of collective capacity: identification (knowledge formation and problem framing), visioning (strategic orientation and mobilisation), and implementation (action and policy steering). Drawing on semi‐structured group interviews and document analysis, we analyse how climate action is orchestrated by municipalities, showing marked variation in emphases across municipalities. Cities emphasise identification through institutional networks and sustainability projects; rural municipalities and small towns emphasise implementation practises through interaction between public officials and residents. Promising practises across domains seldom cohere into systemic orchestration aligning institutional and community‐based dynamics. We argue that progressing towards systemic orchestration requires municipalities to shift from fragmented or project‐based interventions to reflexive coordination across domains. Systematising local knowledge integration, supporting multi‐actor experimentation, and extending temporal continuity in engaging with local actors can help municipalities convert collective capacity into durable climate transitions.