Green Mayors Alliance: Building a Regional Platform for Municipal Green Investments
Donor: Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans
Beneficiaries: Primary beneficiaries – members (municipalities and cities) of the Green Mayors Alliance (GMA), secondary beneficiaries – citizens and local communities that will benefit from future green infrastructure investments.
Implementation period: July 2026 – March 2027
The project will support the further development of the GMA as a municipality-led regional platform for green transition and climate-resilient local development in the Western Balkans. Building on the results of the Sunny Schools initiative, which demonstrated the potential of municipalities to implement renewable energy investments and reinvest benefits into local communities, the project will help the Alliance move from an emerging political commitment toward a more structured, operational and results-oriented cooperation mechanism.
The project will be implemented from July 2026 to March 2027 and will be organised around two mutually reinforcing components. The first component will focus on strengthening the operational capacity of GMA. NALED will support the establishment of a practical coordination mechanism for all member municipalities, including confirmation of municipal focal points, agreement on communication channels, priority themes and coordination meetings. An in person regional coordination meeting will be organised in the context of CORE Days 2026, providing an opportunity to present the Alliance to regional stakeholders and the international community.
The second component will focus on strengthening municipal capacities and supporting the preparation of concrete green investment projects. NALED will conduct a municipal capacity and investment readiness assessment among GMA members, including mapping of project ideas, institutional capacities, financing barriers and needs for support. In parallel, NALED will develop a project readiness methodology, designed both for evidence-based selection of projects under this action and as a future self-assessment tool for municipalities.
Up to five municipalities will be selected to receive hands on support in project development and follow-up online mentoring leading to the development of up to five project applications, including project fiches, or draft funding applications, depending on the maturity of the selected projects and the requirements of identified financing opportunities.
Expected results include:
- Established and functioning GMA coordination mechanism.
- Strengthened Green Mayors Alliance visibility and positioning.
- Peer learning and practical exchange among GMA members improved.
- Developed and implemented project readiness methodology/self-assessment tool.
- Assessed municipal capacities, project pipelines and investment readiness.
- Priority green investment projects selected for tailored support.
- At least 40 representatives of GMA municipalities improved knowledge of green project preparation.
- Up to five green investment project applications co-developed with selected municipalities.