A journey that began more than two years ago culminated with the news on July 22 that ICMA will work on a major project through USAID to help the Philippines sustainably strengthen its local economies.

“This is fantastic news on many levels,” said incoming ICMA President Pat Martel. “It creates a variety of opportunities for ICMA to demonstrate and facilitate what it does best, helping to build strong communities. It allows ICMA members, through our highly recognized professional association, to leverage our locally based skills and expertise for the benefit of emerging local economies in the Philippines. What better way for ICMA and our members to make an impact on the development of professional local government than through global partnerships,”she said. 

The SURGE project (Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity), focuses on the nation’s second-tier cities, which are quickly emerging as engines of future economic growth. ICMA, together with its partners, will focus on achieving USAID’s goal of transforming 12 second-tier cities outside of Metro Manila into engines of conscientious economic growth. Project objectives include:

• Improving the ability of those cities to plan in ways that are economically and environmentally resilient
• Promoting low-emission, sustainable, inclusive local economic development 
• Increasing integration between these urban centers and the surrounding rural areas
• Strengthening multisectoral capacity to ensure inclusive growth.

“ICMA brings not only our experience working on the ground at the local level in some 70 countries around the world including the Philippines,” said David Grossman, director of Global Programs. “We also bring our expertise and the expertise of our members in dealing with the realities of sustaining economic development in the face of climate change, which leaves cities vulnerable to disruptions, such as flooding,” he said. He added that among the core values of ICMA is the conviction that local governance, to be good, must be efficient, inclusive, and equitable. 

The SURGE contract is valued at more than $47 million over five years. Partners include the Louis Berger Group, Banyan Global, Land and Governance Innovations Consultants, the Oscar Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, and ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat. ICMA also will count on its relationship with the League of Cities of the Philippines, an ICMA international affiliate organization and a partner with ICMA in the U.S. Department of State Professional Fellows Program, to serve as the key anchor for knowledge-building and management activities to replicate and institutionalize SURGE’s success long after the program ends.