Artificial intelligence, City Experiment Fund

UNDP launches global AI Foundations for Municipalities course 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched AI Foundations for Municipalities, a self-paced online course open to municipal staff and public servants worldwide, regardless of their role, technical background or prior knowledge of artificial…

M4EG, Systems and portfolios

The (In)Visible Effects of the M4EG Mission Journey: A Balcony View of the Region

The Narrative of Transformation How we speak about change fundamentally shapes the change itself. In development, it is easy to default to reporting in templates with indicators, inputs, outputs, efficiencies, and deliverables. But working with…

M4EG, Systems and portfolios

On foot or by bike: Four new tourist routes to explore in Sireți

Just 17 km from Chișinău, Sireți invites visitors to slow down and discover the village from a different perspective. Four new tourist routes, two for walking and two for cycling, connect the locality’s better-known landmarks…

Innovative finance, M4EG

EU and UNDP launch an Innovative Finance Challenge to help cities unlock new financing opportunities

ISTANBUL, 16 October 2026 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through the Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) Facility, funded by the European Union, and the City Experiment Fund (CEF), funded by the Ministry of Finance…

City Experiment Fund, Systems and portfolios

Green Economy Hub Opens in Kovel, Volyn Oblast, with Support from Slovakia and UNDP

Kovel, Volyn Oblast, 5 October 2026 – Residents, local authorities, civil society and businesses in the city of Kovel now have a shared home for sustainable innovation with the official launch of the Green Economy…

City Experiment Fund, Systems and portfolios

UNDP selects four municipalities to join the CEF x AI programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has selected four municipalities – Skopje, North Macedonia; Rivne, Ukraine; Yerevan, Armenia; and Pristina, Kosovo[1] – for the first phase of the CEF x AI programme, following an application…

BOOST, City Experiment Fund

UNDP releases 2025 Slovak Transformation Fund Annual Report 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Europe and Central Asia has published the 2025 Annual Report for the Slovak Transformation Fund (STF), highlighting how cities across the region are strengthening their capacity to manage…

M4EG, Systems and portfolios

M4EG: Leading cities when the compass fails 

Originally posted at M4EG’s website, read the full article here.  When familiar maps no longer work and the compass starts to spin, leadership is about learning to navigate the unknown. Tools alone are not the…

M4EG, Systems and portfolios

M4EG: What if the project is not the point?  

Originally posted at M4EG’s website, read the full article here.  Cities rarely move in straight lines. A tourism problem is also a skills problem, a public-service problem, a business-confidence problem and often a community-belief problem.…

Strategic innovation, Urban futures

UNEP provides US$1.95 million to scale up Armenia’s circular bioeconomy transition 

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), through its Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), has approved over US$2.2 million in funding to accelerate Armenia’s transition towards a circular bioeconomy – strengthening municipal systems, reducing organic…

City Experiment Fund, Systems and portfolios

With support from Slovakia and UNDP, a Green Economy Hub has opened in Nizhyn, Chernihiv Oblast

On 30 July, the Green Economy Hub was opened in Nizhyn – a new space where residents, local authorities, businesses and academia can work together around a shared goal: to make the community more energy-resilient and…

City Experiment Fund, Digital transformation and emerging tech

Where does AI actually help a city? Ten municipalities spent three days finding out 

Inside the CEF x AI Bootcamp in Podgorica, Montenegro – and what it taught us about building AI capability in local governments