The City-to-City Partnerships (CityLinks) Leader with Associates (LWA) provides USAID missions with a proven, cost-effective resource for development programs that address climate change, food security, and/or water and sanitation challenges.

Through the USAID-funded Resource Cities and CityLinks programs, ICMA has gained more than a decade of experience facilitating successful peer-to-peer partnerships. Many of these partnerships are between professionals in the United States and their counterparts in developing and transitioning countries. Others have been between cities in the same geographic region, so that participants can learn from each other and develop ongoing cooperative relationships. Because of its diversity, the ICMA team has experience with multiple partnership models and approaches—offering flexibility in program design. 

The professionals who participate in these partnerships share their technical knowledge and expertise on a pro-bono basis, significantly reducing costs for the mission. 

Benefits

Under CityLinks, missions have access to Associate awards with significant advantages: 

  • A pool of technical experts in climate change, food security, and water/sanitation solutions
  • A strong implementation team headed by ICMA with its proven track record facilitating city-to-city partnerships
  • Pro-bono labor contributions from U.S. professionals and their employers
  • Assistance in designing a stand-alone program—or integrating a CityLinks partnership into USAID’s portfolio to support an existing program
  • Flexible program design to meet the unique needs of each mission. 

Accessing CityLinks

USAID has designated the following points of contact for missions with an interest in accessing CityLinks: 

  • Helen Santiago Fink, Urban Climate Change Advisor, EGAT/Infrastructure & Engineering, Washington, DC (hsantiagofink@usaid.gov; 202-712-1025)
  • Nancy Leahy, Urban Advisor, EGAT/Infrastructure & Engineering, Washington, DC (nleahy@usaid.gov; 202-712-1157). 

At ICMA, the project director is Judit Deilinger (jdeilinger@icma.org; 202-962-3520).