ICMA’s members are the professionals who develop integrated plans and mobilize community resources to implement them. And they hire and supervise the local government department heads who oversee public services. In the course of the USAID-funded Resource Cities and CityLinks programs, hundreds of dedicated U.S. city and county professionals shared their experience and expertise with their counterparts in more than 100 cities in other countries.

Global Reach

Having carried out more than 500 projects on five continents, ICMA understands and successfully implements the complex, tailored programs needed to improve local governance and service delivery in developing and transitioning countries. Examples:

• In the USAID-funded CAWSA program in Afghanistan, ICMA has employed its “learning by doing” approach to help four local water supply companies restore neglected and damaged infrastructure and put sound management practices in place, resulting in improvements in water quality and reliability of service for residents—and increased recovery of costs.
• The city of Bekasi, a suburb of Jakarta, Indonesia, addressed a pressing problem of vehicular congestion and pollution by adapting computerized traffic modeling systems from Gresham, Oregon, its CityLinks partner, resulting in improvements in traffic flow and air quality.
• Working with three CityLinks partners from Florida, two tsunami-ravaged cities in India designed and built community playgrounds, solved drainage problems to mitigate seasonal flooding, created computer-aided design (CAD) base maps that improved their flood evacuation plans, and increased local access to reliable, safe drinking water.
  

ICMA has 25 international affiliate organizations representing 32 countries and a regional presence in Latin America through ICMA Latinoamérica, based in Mexico, and in South Asia through the Urban Management Center, based in India. The ICMA China Center based in Beijing was established in 2010 with the School of Politics and Public Administration of the China University of Political Science and Law.

Institutional Resources

Unlike many membership organizations, ICMA engages in large-scale information-sharing, publishing, and technical assistance activities, including substantial contract- and grant-funded projects both internationally and domestically. These business lines provide access to significant resources that enhance ICMA’s international programs:

• The Knowledge Network, or KN, hosted by ICMA, is an online community where professionals can find information, post documents, ask questions, connect with colleagues, and form groups around specific interests. The City2City program will be enhanced by a dedicated KN site.
• ICMA’s Center for Sustainable Communities provides leading-edge content for local government stakeholders interested in creating more resilient communities by conducting applied research, disseminating leading practices, offering high-quality professional development and training, and fostering peer-to-peer initiatives. The Center published Getting Smart About Climate Change, which provides case study examples of communities dealing with climate change issues through the application of “smart growth” strategies such as transportation, job development, energy efficiency, and disaster planning. Dedicated ICMA members participate in the Center’s advisory committee, and the Center is supported by a robust topic page in the Knowledge Network.
• ICMA is the recipient of funding for U.S.-based programs that directly relate to the City2City technical areas, including the Solar America Communities Outreach Partnership (Department of Energy), the Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (Environmental Protection Agency), and the Climate Change Professional Fellows Program (Department of State).
• ICMA’s Center for Performance Measurement (CPM) collects and shares performance data from close to 200 jurisdictions that aim to improve service delivery by learning from the innovations and successes of others. Sustainability and solid waste are among the 18 service areas for which CPM collects data. In addition to its extensive data collection and analysis activities, CPM provides training in performance measurement and management and publishes case studies based on successful practices and lessons learned. CPM is also enriched by a Knowledge Network topic page.
• The Alliance for Innovation, ICMAs partner in the creation and maintenance of the Knowledge Network, is an international network of progressive governments and partners committed to transforming local government by accelerating the development and dissemination of innovations. The Alliance seeks out innovative practices, challenges existing business models, disseminates knowledge, and provides products and services that help its members perform at their best.