Cities & Partners

The Cities for Sustainable Public Finances (CSPF) is a European reference group in local public financial management that unites the Chief Executive Officers/Chief Financial Officers and Finance Managers of the Cities of Amsterdam (NL), Barcelona (ES), Bordeaux Métropole (FR), Hamburg (DE), the City of London Corporation (UK), Tallinn (EE) and Trondheim (NO). 

This initiative is managed by KDZ and supported through active participation and partnership by the European Commission – Eurostat.

Mission and Objectives

CSPF provides a collaborative space where cities can exchange expertise, compare financial practices, and develop shared approaches to managing public finances in a complex and evolving environment. Through peer learning and structured dialogue, the network supports evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement.

As a forum for joint reflection, CSPF works to improve the comparability, transparency, and usability of financial data across European cities, contributing to higher standards of quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability in public sector management.

Our mission is to connect reform-oriented European cities and experts around common values: sound financial management, long-term sustainability, adequate liquidity, and fiscal resilience. Strong and sustainable local public finances are essential to Europe’s economic competitiveness, the delivery of social policies, and the long-term wellbeing of its citizens.

Approach

CSPF is a hands-on peer network for city practitioners working on public finance and financial management.

Member cities meet twice a year in rotating host cities to exchange concrete experiences and solutions. Meetings focus on practical case presentations, peer discussions, and challenge-based “Please help” sessions, where cities bring real issues and receive targeted feedback from peers and experts.

External expertise is combined with strong peer learning, ensuring discussions remain relevant and actionable. Cities are often asked to prepare short inputs in advance to support focused exchanges.

The network is built on trust, openness, and long-term professional relationships. Key takeaways and shared lessons are documented and circulated after each meeting.

CSPF is unique in addressing city-level fiscal and financial management from a cross-border European perspective, helping cities learn from one another in a field that remains highly fragmented.

Last Meeting

Summary - 11th CSPF Meeting (online) - 29+30 October 2025

The guiding question of the 11th CSPF meeting was how local financial leadership can strengthen the institutional foundations on which democratic societies depend. In an era of accelerating climate risks, demographic change, political polarization and increasing pressure on public finances, strong institutions are a good measure of societal resilience. SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – is therefore no longer a distant global ambition but a daily municipal necessity. Within this landscape, CFOs play a central role: they safeguard fiscal integrity, guide responsible allocation of resources and ensure that commitments to openness, fairness and accountability translate into credible public action.

CSPF-Road Map 2026/2027