During its August 8 virtual monthly meeting, the ICMA Executive Board took two actions related to the continued development of ICMA’s global relationships.  

The first action was to approve a decision made by the ICMA Europe board in June to dissolve the ICMA Europe office in Slovakia. Earlier this year, ICMA partnered with the KDZ Centre for Public Administration Research, a nonprofit association, to develop a strategy for ICMA’s involvement in Europe. With the guidance of this recently completed study, ICMA staff and the board will begin considering the best approach to continuing and enhancing our relationships in Europe, including if and where ICMA should have an established office in Europe.

The second action was to sunset the Global Vision and Collaboration Committee of the executive board and to integrate the responsibilities of that committee with the responsibilities of the board’s Membership and External Outreach Committee. Currently, board members that serve on the board’s Finance Committee also serve on the Global Vision and Collaboration Committee. This change in committee responsibilities aligns with ICMA’s organizational restructuring that ensures a relationship focus for all of its work to support our members and our affiliate organizations.

These strategic actions align our global aspirations with our organizational structure, and support ICMA’s mission and vision to advance professional local government and to create and sustain thriving communities throughout the world.  

Over the past 50 years, ICMA has partnered with U.S. and global funders to work in more than 70 countries helping to improve local government leadership, management, and service delivery.  To provide this support, ICMA would frequently leverage the knowledge and skills of its members, who often provided volunteer technical assistance to their colleagues in other parts of the world. In 2025, much of that funded work ended due to changing federal priorities. Our demonstrated commitment to global engagement and the relationships in place with the more than 25 international strategic alliances ensure that ICMA remains well-positioned to build upon its progress to date.