Team

A unique collaboration between scholars and professionals of cities’ international action

In line with the objective of accompanying the theoretical as well as the practical evolution of the emerging field of city diplomacy, the Lab is structured around three pillars, in which the Management is in dialogue with a Scientific Committee and an Advisory Board. This structure generates a multi-disciplinary, context-specific, and results-driven methodology to guide the evolution, understanding, and practice of city diplomacy.


The Management

Based in Paris, the Lab’s Management is formed by a dynamic international and experienced staff of city diplomacy researchers and professionals.

Under the coordination of its Director, Dr. Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi, the Lab is structured into three sections: research, education, and practice.

The working languages of the Lab are English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic.

In its activities, the City Diplomacy Lab’s Management benefited from the collaboration of a group of highly qualified Associate Fellows and the resources of the 11 Columbia Global Centers around the world. 


The Scientific Committee

This standing committee is composed of highly distinguished scholars in the fields of international relations and urban studies.

The Director appoints the members of the Scientific Committee with a renewable three-year mandate. They advise the Lab in its strategic actions and assess the quality and progress of all research. The scientific committee meets twice annually.

List of Scientific Committee members


The Advisory Board

The Board is formed by an unprecedented coalition of city diplomacy stakeholders who support the Lab and participate in defining its actions.

Membership of the Advisory Board is open to the primary stakeholders in city diplomacy: municipalities, city networks, local and national institutions, and international organizations.

List of Advisory Board members