Local Hub Releases FY2026 Periodic Report for Local Governments

Crowdshien Inc. (Headquarters: Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture; Representative Director: Shogo Kambara), operator of 'Local Hub', a platform supporting co-creation between local governments and enterprises, has prepared its FY2026 periodic report for local governments and begun sharing it with participating municipalities.

In addition to the utilization status of Local Hub and the progress of corporate proposals, this report outlines the perspective that, in order to continuously advance public-private partnerships, operational design is crucial. This involves not just traditional 'issue identification' and 'fostering employee motivation', but also mechanisms to receive corporate proposals, organize them internally, and connect them to the relevant departments.

Local Hub Website: https://localhub.jp/

■ Background | Public-Private Partnerships Do Not Advance Just by 'Highlighting Issues'

Local Hub has traditionally provided a mechanism where local governments post regional issues and collaboration needs, and receive proposals from enterprises.

Through workshops and GOV meetings, the company has also worked to create opportunities for municipal staff to review their own operations and regional issues, helping them recognize the "room for collaboration with private companies."

However, through ongoing dialogue and operations with local governments, the following challenges have emerged:

- Even when calls for issues are made, sufficient issues are not gathered from within the government offices.
- Sales proposals from companies reach various departments directly, leading to isolated, individual responses.
- The relevant departments struggle to judge the quality of the proposals.
- It is difficult to explain internally 'why we are holding a dialogue with this specific company'.
- Ensuring fairness and continuity is complex.
- Even if a dedicated window for public-private partnerships exists, it is difficult to create a compelling need for internal involvement.

In short, simply "identifying issues" and "boosting employee motivation" is not enough to advance public-private partnerships. Without a system to receive corporate proposals, organize them based on set criteria, and integrate them internally, the process tends to rely heavily on the experience and enthusiasm of individual personnel.

Therefore, as an operational policy for FY2026, Local Hub is advancing considerations to shift public-private partnerships from being "driven by the passion of the person in charge" to being "initiatives that can be started in a somewhat organized state."

■ Concepts Outlined in the Report for Local Governments

In this periodic report for local governments, the following concepts were organized as essential elements for advancing public-private partnerships:

"Recognition of issues" and "actions to lower barriers to collaboration" x "designing the necessity to engage in public-private partnerships" and "systematizing the criteria to judge proposals"

+ Margin/Humanity/Relationships

Up to now, Local Hub has prioritized fostering awareness and creating triggers for dialogue so that municipal staff can re-examine regional issues and start collaborating with private companies on a small scale.

This movement will remain important. However, moving forward, in addition to this, the company believes it is necessary to consider the "systematization" of how corporate proposals are received, which departments they are routed to, and what criteria are used to evaluate them. Specifically, the following aspects will be organized:

- Initial sorting when receiving corporate proposals
- Division of roles between the public-private partnership window and the relevant departments
- Evaluation criteria for integrating proposals internally
- Distinction between proof-of-concept (PoC) and full-scale commercialization
- Organization to explain fairness and continuity
- Operations to translate corporate proposals into a format that is easy for the relevant departments to consider

Having such mechanisms in place makes it easier for relevant departments to transition from a state of "having to evaluate all corporate proposals ourselves" to a state where they can consider proposals after the public-private partnership department has performed a preliminary sorting.

■ Local Hub's Track Record to Date

Local Hub has been conducting proofs-of-concept with local governments nationwide since 2023, and in November 2025, it transitioned to a formal operational phase as the "Local Hub Model."

Meeting setting rate: Average 58%

Commercialization rate: 38% (When factoring in the Local Hub Model: Meeting -> Commercialization 32.34%)

Number of registered companies: 25,000 (including over 1,000 companies proactive in public-private partnerships)

Number of registered municipalities: 127 organizations (As of May 2026)

FY2026 Target: 300 participating municipalities

■ Future Initiatives

Local Hub will advance the following initiatives as key policies for FY2026.

1. Organizing mechanisms to receive corporate proposals

The company will proceed with operational organization to make it easier for local governments to initiate public-private partnerships, such as initial sorting of received proposals, internal routing, and creating evaluation criteria.

2. Enhancing the publication of collaboration case studies

Rather than simply introducing results, the company will enhance the publication of case studies that focus on the practical processes, such as "why they were able to act," "where they almost stalled," and "how they managed internal coordination."

3. Utilizing the municipality "My Page" function

By organizing and visualizing each municipality's collaboration stance, focus areas, and points of emphasis during proposals, the platform aims to improve the accuracy of corporate proposals and reduce mismatches.

4. Creating opportunities for dialogue through GOV meetings, etc.

Beyond online information organization, the company will continue to create spaces where municipal staff and companies can interact directly to foster relationships geared toward implementation.