It has been almost four months since ICMA was awarded the new five-year, $25 million USAID CityLinks grant – and I am still exhilarated! I actually framed the distinctive proposal cover, artistically designed by the ICMA Creative Services team, and it is hanging in the hallway just outside my office directly in my line of sight. Staff from throughout the organization pulled together in an extraordinary effort to win the award. After all, CityLinks has been the ICMA International flagship program since 1997! It is a city matching and partnering activity that ICMA does better than any other organization. USAID recognized our outstanding capability by selecting ICMA, yet again, to implement CityLinks. As this iteration of CityLinks focuses primarily on the global issues of Climate Adaptation in Cities, Urban Food Security, and Water and Sanitation Services, we are partnering with world-class, technically focused organizations including the Institute for Sustainable Communities, Land O’Lakes International Development, Urban Management Center, American Public Works Association, ICLEI, Shack/Slum Dwellers International and RUAF Foundation.

I am enormously proud of the winning effort our team put into crafting a comprehensive technical approach to the challenges USAID put forth to the international development community. ICMA’s comparative advantage lies in its robust membership of city managers and other local officials, the work it does directly with cities in the U.S., the world-class Knowledge Network that it hosts, and its vibrant alliances with some 25 international affiliates. I have been active in the international urban development field for 35 years, and I still find it amazing and refreshing to see practitioners from different countries roll up their sleeves and put their heads together to solve problems. This is an approach to information sharing and innovation that only organizations, like ICMA, that promote volunteerism and that provide pro-bono expertise can deliver. Volunteer local government experts working with their developing country counterparts establish a dynamic like no other; benefits flow in both directions and relationships endure well beyond the availability of donor funding. The ICMA volunteers return extolling the often life-changing benefits they bring back from their experiences abroad and the special friendships they have made. Thus, CityLinks contributes to development while also creating good will among cities globally. As many understand, the 21st century is about locally-led innovation informing national and even global reform.

I look forward to this next five-year CityLinks run and truly appreciate being a part of the team at ICMA leading the way. Stay tuned to read about CityLinks programs and accomplishments in cities around the world addressing climate adaptation and mitigation, food security, and water and sanitation innovations.