What we do

Through the Municipal Partnership Programme, ICLD promotes the exchange of knowledge and experiences between local authorities in Sweden and in partnership countries. ICLD’s international network of municipal partnership participants represents a highly valuable network of local-level agents of democratic change.  

Based on extensive experience conducting international training programmes to support local decision-makers and administrative officials in countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, the International Training Programmes support agents of change in carrying out projects within local governments, national ministries and CSOs – strengthening democracy at multiple levels of governance.  

To further bolster the work to reach its goals, ICLD funds research projects in the fields of local democracy, local self-governance, and decentralisation at both Swedish and foreign universities. Our aim, in providing this support, is to help increase our knowledge of the challenges and opportunities we face when working with democracy at a local level. ICLD prioritises projects that support local operatives in the efforts to promote democratic development.