City Diplomacy Lab

City Diplomacy Lab

Headed by Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi, PhD, the City Diplomacy Lab at Columbia Global Centers | Paris is an unprecedented alliance between scholars and practitioners of cities' international action. It deploys a multi-disciplinary methodology to expand the understanding and practice of city diplomacy and advise its evolution. 

The Lab's primary output consists of: 

  • Research: The Lab provides much-needed theoretical framing, reliable data, and comparative analyses of the vast array of bilateral and multilateral city actions and campaigns.
  • Education and Training: By combining theory with empirical evidence, the Lab trains university students and municipal, national, and international officers in matters of city diplomacy. 
  • Practice: The Lab streamlines and strengthens the evolution of city diplomacy by empowering municipalities and a wide array of local and international actors through strategic advising.

To fulfill its triple vocation, the Lab adopts a three-layered governance model, composed of:

  • The Management: based at Columbia Global Centers | Paris and formed by an international and experienced staff of city diplomacy researchers and professionals
  • The Scientific Committee: its distinguished external scholars advise and assess all research and teaching conducted at the Lab
  • The Advisory Board: formed by key city diplomacy actors, it supports the Lab and participates in defining its action.

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