Hertie School hosts European City Leadership Initiative inaugural Senior Leaders’ training

Combining research, teaching and on-the-ground impact – nothing embodies the Hertie School’s mission more than this. Last week, the Hertie School was thrilled to bring all of these elements together as host of the European City Initiative Senior Leaders Meeting. The event united top officials from 30 European city halls with public policy researchers and practitioners to gain pioneering insights into tackling their cities’ challenges, modernising services and leading. 

In sessions led by innovative leaders from cities as diverse as Bratislava and Helsinki, participants examined topics including avoiding groupthink, communicating effectively in today’s media landscape, structuring experimentation, building high-performing teams, and using data to deliver results with a genuine, positive impact on residents.

Hertie School Executive Education organised the programme under the leadership of Dean and Hertie School Vice President Andrea Römmele and Professor of Public Administration and Public Policy Kai Wegrich. It is part of the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative, which the university is delivering in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Cornelia Woll, President of the Hertie School, underscored the significance of the programme: “At the Hertie School, we strive to connect scholarship and practice, research and policy, and local realities with global debates. For over two decades, we have prepared public leaders to navigate complexity, uncertainty and rapid change. This initiative continues that mission.”

Dean Andrea Römmele noted that “strong public service rests not only on expertise but on humility, curiosity and the courage to evolve. I am proud to see leaders across Europe commit to more open, human and evidence-based communication as part of the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative.”

Four days, four themes in urban innovation

Over four intensive days, municipal officials attended seminars, workshops, and fireside chats on four overarching themes:

• Enabling your teams to innovate: Participants explored how innovation leadership operates within political, structural and cultural constraints and identified personal and institutional levers for change.
• Embed communication and data competencies in your city hall: Participants worked on strengthening their city hall’s communication and data competencies
• Embed collaboration, experimentation and scaling competencies in your city hall: Participants learned how expanding impact through partnerships and experimentation can align delivery in the city hall.
• Organisational and cultural change for city government innovation: Participants examined how they, as senior leaders, have the power to embed a culture of innovation and collaboration within their cities.

Topics ranged from connecting with citizens and improving their cities to digitalising public services, working across silos within city hall, increasing optimism and trust in public institutions, and reaching citizens on social media. Alongside faculty from the Hertie School and LSE, the speakers included the Mayor of Bratislava, Matúš Vallo; the Head of Digital Policy at the German Federal Chancellery, Michael Schönstein; and Juha Leppänen and Nina Langerholc from Demos Helsinki.

Professor Kai Wegrich stresses that knowledge exchange was a major strength of the programme. “It is not a one-way transfer of ‘best practice’, but a shared learning environment where leaders learn from each other just as much as from faculty.

“It is ultimately about people," he added, "the public servants who keep cities functioning, and the residents whose lives are shaped by the quality of services and public spaces.”

From the classroom to city hall

In the next phase of the project, the senior leaders apply their knowledge and support their mayors in overseeing city teams that will develop an innovative approach to solving resident-facing challenges.

James Anderson, Head of Government Innovation Programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies, remarked that the week was “a remarkable start to a new effort to support and strengthen Europe’s city leaders. The work ahead is big – and the energy is even bigger.”

We thank all our session leaders and participants, and we look forward to seeing  the knowledge gained put into practice!