Information and communication support for inclusive governance of territorial communities: institutional paradigm and digitalization of local government bodies

Deepening decentralization and the challenges of post-war recovery highlight the need to rethink inclusive governance of local communities as centers of public authority and service provision. The article proves that information and communication support for local self-government bodies (LSGB) is an “infrastructure of trust” that reduces the transaction costs of interaction between authorities and residents, strengthens the legitimacy of management decisions, and creates conditions for stakeholder participation in policy-making. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the institutional paradigm of information and communication support for inclusive governance and to determine the role of LGA digitalization in the formation of inclusive development institutions, taking into account internal and external factors. The methodology combines an institutional approach, regulatory and comparative analysis, content analysis of web resources and digital communication channels of communities, as well as structural and functional modeling of the links between “institutions – communications – inclusiveness – development”. It has been established that digital transformation enhances inclusiveness only if procedures for informing, consulting, processing proposals, motivated decision-making, and public reporting are institutionalized; without this, digital tools become a communication «showcase». Key risks (digital divides, process fragmentation, imitation of participation, cyber threats) are identified and the need for an anti-risk policy framework for local self-government is justified. The scientific novelty lies in the systematization of factors and mechanisms of inclusive governance and the formation of a framework for assessing the information and communication capacity of the community. The practical significance is the identification of priorities for the integration of digital channels into the management cycle and the basis for an integrated index of communication capacity. Keywords: public administration, information and communication support, digitization, territorial communities, local self-government bodies, institutional paradigm, inclusive development, interaction, institutions of inclusive development, internal and external factors of inclusive governance.