With funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), ICMA conducted a four-part, two-way reciprocal environmental and sustainability fellowship exchange that promoted learning and knowledge exchange among key local government practitioners from the U.S., Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The exchange focused on the theme of accountable governance.

Fellows spent time in 23 different host communities and organizations across the United States: City of Ontario, OR; City of Austin, TX; City of Denver, CO; City of Goddard, KS; City of Tukwila, WA; Rare.org, DC; City of Kansas City, KS; Guilford County, NC; Harris County, TX; Office of Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty in New Britain, CT; Downtown DC Business Improvement District; City of Tallahassee, FL; City of Frankfort, KY; Coconino County, AZ; City of Northampton, MA; Jackson County, MI; City of Bozeman, MT; City of Salisbury, NC; CASA for Douglas County, NE; City of Hooksett, NH; City of Upper Arlington, OH; City of Tulsa, OK; City of Albany, OR

The exchange visits by the foreign participants occurred between April 2017 and November 2017, and included participation in short-term fellowships, job shadowing, meetings with government officials, and visits to nonprofits and community groups working to engage citizens. Participants captured their experiences and shared photos and videos on ICMA’s YSEALI Fellows WordPress blogsite.

In return, 12 participants from the United States participated in a reciprocal experience with their international participant counterparts The U.S. participants traveled from: Ontario, OR; Dubuque, IA; Denver, CO; Tukwila, WA; Coconino County, AZ; Goddard, KS; Upper Arlington, OH; Bozeman, MT; Albany, OR; Frankfort, KY; and Guilford County, NC.

Project Details

More than 50 percent of the Jordanian workforce is employed by micro and small enterprises (MSEs). To create an enabling environment for MSE growth and innovation, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) designed the Jordan Local Enterprise Support (USAID LENS) Project, which was implemented by FHI 360 and with ICMA as a subcontractor.

USAID LENS was designed to improve the economic resilience of vulnerable and underserved populations in Jordan, including women and youth, and facilitate their participation in economic growth. It had three primary objectives:

1. To promote a policy environment that (1) enables micro and small firms to produce, transport, market, and sell efficiently and at competitive cost; (2) helps clarify the availability of resources for municipalities to undertake local economic development (LED) initiatives and support their capacity to access such resources; and (3) encourages investment at the local level.
2. To create effective markets for business support services, particularly access to finance, for MSEs and vulnerable populations and increase the appreciation of firms for the value they provide.
3. To improve the capacity of local government leaders to implement local economic development through streamlined communications with citizens, the private sector, and national government actors; clearer lines of authority; and improved ability to market the assets and investment opportunities in their municipalities.

ICMA’s activities focused on the third objective. ICMA supported changes in national policy and regulations to facilitate better local economic development (LED) by identifying political, economic, and social barriers; analyzing the system of revenue transfers from the national to the local level; and mobilizing LED resources to reduce the need for transfers. ICMA activities help to build local capacity to design and implement successful LED strategies with the involvement of government, private-sector, and other local stakeholders.

ICMA conducted capacity assessments of selected municipalities, provided LED training for mayors and staff at the local and governorate levels, and created CityLinks™ partnerships matching Jordanian cities with their counterparts in U.S. jurisdictions for information- and knowledge-sharing exchanges. The project focused on sectors with emerging or high growth potential, including tourism; food distribution; information, communications, and technology; and transportation/logistics.