Rapid urbanisation and sustainable development are key issues for all regions around the globe, as our cities and populations continue to grow exponentially. This is also an important part of CLGF’s work, which is being taken forward through the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network (CSCN). It is also one of the many reasons that CLGF is delighted to be working with Bloomberg Philanthropies on the 2025 Global Mayors Challenge to encourage applications and provide support. The initiative calls on mayors to work with residents and entrepreneurs to radically reimagine their most essential municipal services, from public transportation to waste management, housing and shelter, emergency response, and more.

180 submissions from Commonwealth cities

The first phase of this exciting initiative was successfully completed on Friday, 20 December. After intense work by our regional offices with members, the final count has revealed that there are more than 180 Commonwealth City submissions. To have such a high number of Commonwealth submissions is a great achievement and something we would all wish to celebrate.

Future steps

Looking forward to the next steps of the process, all submitted applications will now be reviewed by the Bloomberg team, with 50 finalists to be notified by the end of March 2025.

This year’s challenge is focused on core city service, and final projects will be city wide, directly resident-facing, and services that the city has direct authority over. This can be areas such as clean water, air and infrastructure, public transport, waste management, local economic development, public safety and digital connectivity among others.

The 50 finalist cities will receive:

• $50K to prototype and test their idea
• Technical assistance and subject matter expertise advisory
• Opportunity to attend Ideas Camp, an in-person convening where finalists will come together to take their ideas from good to great

The 50 finalises will resubmit their proposals in July 2025 and in October 2025 Bloomberg will announce the 25 winning cities, that will receive:

• $1M USD over two years (Jan 2026-Dec 2027)
• 2 funded staff positions
• Technical assistance and subject matter expertise
• Implementation coaching

CLGF’s Head of Programmes, Ms Claire Frost said: “CLGF, with our regional offices being at the heart of encouraging and supporting our members in this initiative, is a proud partner to the Challenge. With so many impressive and innovative project proposals, we look forward to accompanying our member cities in this process towards a record number of Commonwealth winners.”