Urbanization is forcing local government to revisit their way of communicating with citizens. By using Information Technology, cities can become smarter, more livable and more sustainable. The purpose of this study is to identify critical success factors for local government regarding smart city strategy and participation. The literature study consists of concepts such as smart city, participation and digital strategy. The qualitative study shows that the city of Hamburg defined a digital vision while the other two cities lacked setting such strategies. Bottom-up planning was their primary approach for smart city activities. Regarding the topic of participation we recognize that Hamburg can be recognized as a best practice example. Although the participatory practices were still in its infancy, they showed promising results. Remarkably, all three cities stress the importance of collaboration of different types of stakeholders. The quadruple helix structure ensures effective participation of citizens, companies, universities and government.