Mayors Innovation Project

We are so very excited to invite you to join us Wednesday, Jan. 15 - Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 in Washington D.C. for the Mayors Innovation Project Winter Policy Meeting! This year we’ll be celebrating our 20th Anniversary, and we’re more committed than ever to centering our values of equity, sustainability, and democracy in city policymaking. We invite you to celebrate 20 years of MIP by joining us for two days of networking and policy sessions designed to send you home with fresh ideas and new friends and partners to support you. This year’s conference will include discussions on climate resilient infrastructure, creating inclusive and welcoming communities, reducing barriers to community wealth building, and a special workshop on improving mayor-council communications. We’ll also host a briefing on the results of our 2024 research project, summarizing the top challenges and opportunities that mayors shared with us and the ways our network is working to meet those challenges. Learn more and register today: https://bit.ly/MIP-W25!

As we prepare to celebrate the New Year 🎆 , we'd like to take this opportunity to give kudos to Mayor Indya Kincannon and the City of Knoxville, TN for their work this year to improve street safety. 🚵♀️ 🚶♀️ This year, Knoxville hosted our 2024 Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety (MIPS) Meeting in August which allowed MIPS cohort members to see some of the great pedestrian safety improvements happening in the City. We love seeing and sharing how MIP cities continue to work towards #SaferStreets for all. Check out the hashtag ➡️ #knoxvillewrapped to see more of Knoxville's highlights and progress from 2024. Cheers to safer streets in 2025! 🌟 🚲 🚶 #mayorinnovation

Happy holidays from the Mayors Innovation Project! This holiday season, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude to everyone who has supported our network this year. To the mayors, city staff, funders, partners, and sponsors who engaged with us in 2024—thank you for building this network with us. We look forward to building the high road with you in 2025!

🌎 It’s #InternationalMigrantsDay, and we’re celebrating the vital contributions of migrants and immigrants to our communities by sharing actionable resources to support their success: 📘 Increasing Skills & Opportunity for Wisconsin’s Immigrants (2016) explores how education, skills training, and inclusive policies can unlock economic opportunity for immigrant workers. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gB36gCEA 📗 Good Ideas for Cities: Welcoming and Protecting Immigrants (2024) by Mayors Innovation Project highlights innovative ways cities are creating inclusive environments, from sanctuary policies to welcoming programs that empower immigrants and strengthen local economies. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gGfnYVpq Let’s continue building communities where everyone can thrive! 💙 #MigrantsDay #WelcomingCommunities #ImmigrantSuccess #InclusiveCities

Taking a moment to recognize the incredible contributions of our team member, Lindsey Hess! 🌟 👏 Not only is she an integral part of planning MIP events, but her dedication, positive energy, and hard work make our workplace brighter every day. We're so grateful to have Lindsey Hess, CMP on our team!

International Human Rights Day, celebrated each year on December 10, commemorates the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration guarantees the rights of every individual everywhere, without distinction based on nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, language, or any other status. Please join us in using this day as an opportunity to celebrate and affirm the value and rights of all individuals in your community. One tool cities can use to measure their commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ rights and protections is the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index. Check it out below!

We’re just 6 weeks away from MIP’s 20th Winter Meeting! We are excited to gather with you to dig into topics ranging from community wealth building to flood resilience. In addition to our policy sessions, we like to feature workshops on issues our mayors care about. This year, we’re excited to be working with two former mayors to bring you a workshop on a topic that mayors say they are continuously challenged by: creating productive relationships with their governing body. Respectful and productive relationships promote civil discourse more broadly, support recruitment and retention of quality staff and elected officials, and enable mayors to accomplish more for their communities. This leadership workshop is designed to equip mayors leading under both strong mayor and council-manager forms of government with skills and strategies needed to build and maintain productive partnerships, led by former mayors Jake Spano (St. Louis Park, MN) and Karen Freeman-Wilson (Gary, IN). Learn more and register for the meeting: https://bit.ly/MIP-W25!

Congratulations to the 250+ communities, including nine Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety (MIPS) alumni🤩, who were recently awarded funding from the latest round of the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program! 🛣️🚶🚴 📣Special shoutout to: Mayor MALIK EVANS (City of Rochester, NY) Mayor Cavalier Johnson (City of Milwaukee, WI) Mayor Tim Kelly (City of Chattanooga, TN) Mayor Indya Kincannon (City of Knoxville, TN) Mayor Quinton Lucas (City of Kansas City, MO) Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway (City of Madison, WI) Mayor Sean Shultz (Borough Of Carlisle, PA) Mayor Danene Sorace (City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania) Mayor Matt Tuerk (City of Allentown, PA) We’re excited to see how these investments create opportunities for your cities to build safer, more accessible streets for all to enjoy. Well done! 👏👏 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/grCPW_Zj

Today we share our gratitude for the hardworking mayors, city staff, and partners who are dedicated to serving communities. Your bold leadership and commitment to public service helps to build stronger, safer, healthier communities. Thank you for building this network with us. We wish you and your cities a safe and joyful holiday! 🦃🍂🍁

🗣️ 📣 There's just five weeks left to obligate American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds! The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Biden in spring 2021, was designed to provide direct funding to cities, towns, and villages to help them respond to and recover from the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic. Since that time, cities have responded to this unprecedented direct funding with a slew of innovative programs designed to invest in long term resilience and to support sectors and communities particularly impacted by the pandemic. Our latest feature highlights some of the most innovative uses of ARPA funding, including the expansion of affordable housing, investments in digital equity, and workforce training. We encourage communities with remaining ARPA funds to obligate and expend this money quickly. Read a recap of some of the most innovative ARPA investments to celebrate or steal today: https://bit.ly/3CBR9AB!