A Learning Network for Mayors

We create spaces that are uniquely for mayors and their most trusted advisors. Through meetings, focused cohorts, technical assistance and more, we support mayors as people and as city leaders.

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"MIP offers the opportunity to go deep on challenges facing our cities and relevant practical solutions that can be considered and customized for our local contexts. MIP provides a safe space for substantive policy discussions and relationship building that helps us serve our communities more efficiently, effectively, and equitably." - Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird Lincoln, NE

"The Mayors Innovation Project provides a community for mayors that I have not found anywhere else. It's the perfect [mix] of policy content and camaraderie that every mayor needs." - Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway Madison, WI

"This conference is perfect for small + midsize population mayors. You learn from peers and subject matter experts. It's also an opportunity to see the sights and sounds of communities that have recovered from financial or reputation challenges[;] it's an intimate setting where friendships are made and networking is the order of the day." - Mayor Benjamin Holbert Woodmere Village, OH

"[MIP offers] "real world" solutions that can be easily adaptable to my city. [I] appreciate the opportunity to engage with other mayors from across the country in an open and safe space to share ideas, successes, and challenges." - Mayor Sharetta Smith Lima, OH

"MIP is an invaluable experience - a place to commiserate, to learn, to re-charge, and to make new (and inspiring) connections. MIP helps us to show up as our best selves in our Mayoral roles." - Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith Blacksburg, VA

"MIP's challenge at the beginning of each meeting is to come away with one or two ideas. I consistently come away with five." - Mayor Sean Shultz Carlisle, PA

News & Updates

  • Mayors Champion Safer Streets for Pedestrian Safety Month

    By Quincy Midthun, Mayors Innovation Project While traffic fatalities remain a national crisis—with 39,252 people killed on U.S. roadways, including 7,080 pedestrians, in 2024—the everyday safety residents experience happens at the local…

  • What Moline’s Level Up Program Can Teach Mayors About Economic Mobility

    By Mary Carr Lee, Mayors Innovation Project For city leaders, the conversation around guaranteed income has shifted. What was once viewed as an experimental concept is now becoming a practical municipal tool.…

  • It’s National Voter Registration Day!

    Voting is the lifeblood of a democracy, but voter registration is where the civic heartbeat begins. Founded in 2012, National Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan, nationwide effort held every September to…

  • Housing, Density, and the Political Will to Deliver

    By Mary Carr Lee, Mayors Innovation Project Madison’s housing landscape is changing quickly—and not by accident. At MIP’s 2026 Summer Conference in Madison, WI, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Matt Wachter, the city’s…

  • Summer 2026 Innovation Showcase

    Posted on August 18, 2026 By Mary Carr Lee and Katya Spear, Mayors Innovation Project At this year’s Summer Meeting in Madison, mayors from across the country demonstrated what modern local leadership…