ICMA and USAID invite cities, counties, regional councils, and other organizations to participate in a CityLinks™ partnership. CityLinks engages all kinds of local governments, special districts, associations, urban service organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and other entities that have resources or expertise to share in the following interrelated and broadly defined areas:
- Climate change adaptation and mitigation, including developing integrated systems for disaster preparedness/resiliency; improving urban infrastructure operations; promoting sustainable land use planning; and responses to drought and water shortages, environmental pollution, and other threats
- Built environment and infrastructure management, including enhancing delivery of services such as energy, transport, water, wastewater, and health
- Food security, including nutrition programs and access to affordable, healthy foods.
U.S. partners will enter into an agreement with ICMA and a partner city in a developing or transitioning country to provide specific, short-term assistance. This assistance is provided primarily by local government staff but may, under the local government's direction, be provided by other individuals from the community (e.g., universities, nonprofit organizations). Time in the overseas country is generally two to three weeks. CityLinks covers travel and other program-related expenses for U.S. partners, but the individuals involved are expected to provide their time on a pro-bono basis.
Before entering a formal agreement, the U.S. partner is required to have its governing body ratify an agreement to participate. The reason is to establish strong support for continued participation in the program in the event of unexpected staff changes.
To get started, download the CityLinks Application, save it, complete it, and send it as an e-mail attachment to Jessica Cho at ICMA (jcho@icma.org).
