The year 2024 marks 100 years since ICMA added the “I” to its name. Since then, ICMA members have been committed to making ICMA a more “international” organization. The milestones the association has achieved are numerous—from ICMA’s work advocating for the council-manager form of government throughout Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, to the more than 500 projects in 70 countries that ICMA has led since then as part of its grants and contracts work. The Envision Strategic Plan, created and ratified by the membership in 2017, identified globalization as a key driver for local governments and in 2018 the board established the Global Vision and Collaboration Committee to begin developing a more comprehensive global strategy. Learn more about the milestones of ICMA’s global journey with our interactive timeline.
South African President Nelson Mandela with ICMA President Sy Murray and ICMA Executive Director, Bill Hansell during a visit to South Africa in 1997
Message from the Managing Director of Global Engagement and the Managing Director of Research and Technical Assistance
ICMA is taking the next step in our journey toward realizing what a truly global ICMA can become and accomplish.
Global Engagement
Since the approval of the Global Engagement Strategy in June 2022, ICMA has embarked on a global journey to broaden our network of members and customers around the world, providing local government leaders and their staff with the tools they need to serve their communities. ICMA will provide new access to global networking, knowledge sharing, and professional development resources to benefit all new and future members.
Global Technical Assistance
ICMA has drawn on our members as well as expert consultants and researchers to design, implement, and evaluate local governance projects worldwide. Since 1989, ICMA has implemented more than 500 projects in over 70 countries, making an impact on the lives of millions of people.
As we journey to the next 100 years, ICMA will build on the legacy of support for local governments around the world that it has provided through technical assistance, training, peer-to-peer exchanges and the development of knowledge resources. We will strengthen and build new relationships with like-minded organizations that are working every day to provide a better quality of life for their community members. And we will provide global local government leaders and their staff with the tools and knowledge necessary to innovate and create resilient and sustainable communities.
—Marc Ott, CEO/Executive Director of ICMA, Washington, D.C.
How You Can Contribute to ICMA’s Next 100 Years of Global Work
A fellowship opportunity for ICMA members to take part in global knowledge exchange and professional development.
A scholarship to help emerging leaders participate in global knowledge exchange.
Learn about ICMA’s donor-funded international development work in Asia and ways that you...
ICMA has had international in its name since 1924 and has been engaged internationally as far back as the 1950s and 1960s and on throughout the last six decades. Although the international work was valuable and impactful, there had never been an initiative to understand to what end we were doing it. After over two years of efforts, ICMA staff, with support from members, business partners and other stakeholders developed the Global Engagement Strategy, approved by the ICMA Executive Board in June 2022. I am pleased and proud that we are making the “I” in ICMA more relevant and carrying out the guidance provided by the ENVISION ICMA Strategic Plan.
—Lon Pluckhahn, ICMA Executive Board President, City Manager, Vancouver, Washington
Global Video Content
Global Events
Local government events are a pillar of global knowledge exchange. ICMA aims to share global local government events of interest to all local government professionals. Global events shared by ICMA are those of our strategic allies, partners and other local government organizations around the world. Do you have questions about the events or do you want to add an event to calendar? Contact us at global@icma.org.
ICMA now has a plan to move forward, led by the Global Engagement Team at ICMA, and involving all staff with support from members, to help realize ICMA’s vision and mission globally, providing added value to our members as they confront the challenges faced by communities around the world.
—Marc Ott, CEO/Executive Director of ICMA, Washington, D.C.
For ICMA’s next 100 years of global work, I hope that ICMA will continue bringing together an eclectic group of people to learn from each other, honor each other, understand what we’re doing in our communities, and how that shared knowledge is transferable to everybody else’s community.
—Marie Peoples, Ph.D, City Manager, Webster Groves, Missouri
