UNDP’s City Experiment Fund has released the Twin Transition Stencil Report, presenting a structured framework that was designed to support cities in designing and managing integrated green and digital transformation portfolios.
It responds to a common challenge faced by municipalities: translating high-level green and digital policy goals into coherent, actionable strategies, practical pathways and investable interventions that reflect local realities.
The report synthesizes learnings from the City Experiment Fund’s 2025 Twin Transition cohort, drawing on practical experience from ten cities across Armenia, Kosovo [1], North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Ukraine. It documents how municipal teams approached complex, interconnected challenges by moving beyond isolated projects and toward adaptive portfolios grounded in local priorities and community input.
Rather than offering a step-by-step toolkit, the report, prepared by the City Experiment Team, offers a structured yet flexible methodology for urban transformation portfolio design. Portfolios refer to a set of connected initiatives and experiments that are designed and managed together, allowing cities to test different approaches in parallel, learn what works, and steer long-term transformation rather than relying on isolated projects.
It introduces key concepts such as portfolio intent, areas of interest, strategic positions, and options, and shows how cities can use practices such as experimentation, community listening, and sensemaking to navigate complexity, manage uncertainty, and build evidence for long-term transformation.
Aimed at municipal leaders, policymakers, development practitioners, and urban innovators, the report offers practical insights for cities seeking to connect green and digital priorities in ways that are locally relevant, inclusive, and resilient. It reflects UNDP’s ongoing efforts to support adaptive governance through systems thinking, and experimentation as foundations for sustainable urban development.
Find the report on UNDP Europe and Central Asia’s website.
The City Experiment Fund is a UNDP-led initiative that collaborates with cities across Europe and Central Asia to tackle complex urban challenges through strategic innovation and experimentation, with financial support from the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic.
[1] References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
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