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Welcome to the second class of the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative

Thursday 8 October 2026

Mayors from across Europe convene in London to work with leading faculty and peers on integrating local government innovation into city halls and driving progress for residents

Classroom of mayors for ECLI cohort 2

This week we were thrilled to welcome our second class of mayors to the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative. This pioneering programme helps mayors and their teams across Europe tackle urban challenges, drive progress, and lead – delivering tangible results for residents in new ways.

Established and led by Bloomberg Philanthropies together with LSE, the Initiative is delivered by LSE Cities in collaboration with the Hertie School in Berlin. With this second class, the Initiative has now reached 62 city governments from across 25 countries in Europe who collectively lead more than 33 million residents.

LSE President Larry Kramer gives opening remarks at the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative London convening.

To kick off their participation, mayors convened in London for a four-day classroom experience. Day one took place at LSE with Professor Larry Kramer, President and Vice Chancellor of LSE, alongside Government Innovation experts, including James Anderson, and more from Bloomberg Philanthropies. As cities are increasingly on the front lines of the most complex and urgent priorities their communities face, from housing to digital transformation and inclusive growth, they discussed the importance of investing in local government capacity to meet the moment—and helped participants get to work, lessons they will immediately bring home to their city halls for residents’ benefit.

Mayors in the classroom for the ECLI C2 convening in London

In December, two senior officials from each local government will begin their participation in the Initiative with an immersive classroom experience in Berlin. In early 2027 these leads will also support a ten-member city team that will develop an innovative approach to solve a pressing, resident-facing challenge.

Alongside the executive educational programme is a research component that strengthens and shapes the field of City Government Innovation. The unique learning and development opportunities offered by the Initiative train future city government leaders to strengthen problem-solving capabilities and advance the wider field of urban innovation.