New toolkit provides important insights and practical advice

May 16, 2023, Washington, DC - The Truman Center announced today the launch of its City & State Diplomacy Toolkit, a collection of case studies and tools to support cities, states, and local actors in their global engagement.

This toolkit seeks to help local officials grow their international engagement, learn from best practices and share lessons with counterparts in the U.S. and abroad. Each entry is authored by city and state leaders, local practitioners, or experts in the field, drawing on their direct experience.

“Cities and states across the United States are developing sophisticated approaches to engaging with the world. At a time of renewed great power competition, they are important sources of cooperation, influence, and innovation,” said Max Bouchet, Truman’s Visiting Senior Fellow for City and State Diplomacy, “This toolkit will examine pathways to deeper subnational diplomatic engagement and help a wider range of local communities across the country access international opportunities and bring benefits back home.”

As recommended by the Truman Center’s City & State Diplomacy Taskforce, the Toolkit responds to the lack of resources available to cities and states by capturing strategies, best practices, and innovations for effective city and state diplomacy.

The Toolkit is edited by Bouchet, and will be regularly updated with new briefs published on a rolling basis. In this first series, Truman published the following briefs accessible on the Toolkit’s page:

• “Connecting American cities and U.S. diplomacy: The experience of a Pearson Fellow in Seattle,” by Paul W. Neville, U.S. Foreign Service Officer
• “Building statewide collaboration for global engagement: An example of subnational diplomacy governance in North Carolina,” by Rachel Page, Go Global NC
• “Advancing global human rights locally,” by Julia Spiegel, Office of the Governor of California, in personal capacity
• “Cities driving international cooperation: How Mannheim’s development work is rooted in community,” by Stephanie Oechsner, Stefanie Miller, and Emily Hruban, City of Mannheim
• “Foreign policy and the people: Engaging U.S. citizens and communities in diplomacy,” by Katherine Brown, Ph.D. and Ann-Louise Colgan, Global Ties U.S.

This Toolkit was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author(s).