The Local Public Sector Alliance (LPSA) in partnership with a strong coalition of partners – including the Forum of Federations, NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, NYU Center on International Cooperation (CIC), the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), UNDP, the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, and the World Bank – convened global leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers for the 2026 Global Roundtable on Decentralization and Multilevel Governance. This collaboration reflects something essential: bridging research, policy, and practice to strengthen decentralization and multilevel governance in a rapidly changing global context.
Held on February 26-27, 2026, at NYU Wagner, the roundtable convened more than 65 leaders, practitioners, scholars, and policy experts representing over 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. From Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina to The Gambia, Kenya, Nepal, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago, participants brought diverse regional perspectives and frontline experience – underscoring both the global reach and cross-sector strength of today’s multilevel governance community of practice.
The convening took place against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting global development landscape. As official development assistance declines or changes in nature, countries face mounting pressure to strengthen domestic public sector systems and deliver responsive, efficient, and accountable services. Throughout the two-day program, participants examined how inclusive and effective multilevel governance systems can serve as enablers of global stability, sustainable development, climate resilience, and improved public financial management.
Structured to maximize dialogue and peer exchange, the roundtable featured interactive panels on multilevel governance as a driver of public sector performance, subnational finance, and urban climate resilience, as well as forward-looking discussions on adapting decentralization reforms to new political and fiscal realities.
By convening a diverse group of global actors at a pivotal moment for development cooperation, the roundtable underscored the importance of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and field-building within the decentralization and multilevel governance community. As countries and institutions are called upon to “do more with less,” participants emphasized that strengthening multilevel governance systems is not a peripheral reform, but a central pillar of sustainable and inclusive development going forward.
More information on the detailed program, presentation materials, participants, and emerging outcomes from the Global Roundtable are available on the Global Roundtable landing page.
For now, a two-minute summary of the discussions is available as a Special Episode of LPSA’s Monday Minutes series. A more complete write-up synthesizing the main themes emerging from the discussions will be forthcoming.
Photo Credit: NYU Center on International Cooperation.
