The Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership at Tel Aviv University has been launched with the aim of helping mayors across Israel deliver better and more equitable public services to residents.
The center will focus on developing the leadership and management skills of mayors and their staffs, seek to strengthen social bonds, and deepen ties with mayors around the world. The year-long program will address capabilities in fostering collaboration, using data in decision making, negotiation, crisis management, resident engagement, and generating and implementing innovative ideas. The program will include:
- executive education – instruction in how to build leadership and management skills conducted by Coller School of Business and other Tel Aviv University faculty;
- city innovation projects: each mayor will receive innovation training, coaching, and technical assistance to address an urgent issue facing their city;
- a summer fellowship program: Tel Aviv University students will take part in a 10-week summer fellowship program in participating mayors’ offices throughout Israel;
- local government alumni network: a local leadership network that will bring together all program participants and eventually alumni to share and adapt best practices and innovative policy ideas; and
- a research program- to gather scholars from across Tel Aviv University to conduct applied research on a wide range of topics that are relevant to effective leadership and management in cities.
The center will invite applications and up to 20 mayors will be admitted each year. Selected mayors will also invite two key members of their team to go through the program. The first class of mayors will be announced in fall 2022.
“Four years ago, I encountered the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership initiative and realized that Israel was the perfect fit for such a programme, particularly in view of its size, the relatively small number of mayors, and the ability to make a significant impact,” said Yossi Sagol, the Sagol Family representative. “By adapting this programme in Israel, we can make a real difference on the way local authorities are managed. I am excited to partner with Michael Bloomberg and to adapt this prestigious programme in Israel.”