File #: 25-2214   
Type: Ordinance-S Status: Adopted
Meeting Body: City Council Formal Meeting
On agenda: 11/19/2025 Final action: 11/19/2025
Title: Phoenix Sister Cities, Inc. Contract - Request to Award (Ordinance S-52414) - Citywide
District: Citywide

Title

Phoenix Sister Cities, Inc. Contract - Request to Award (Ordinance S-52414) - Citywide

 

Description

Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute a five-year agreement with Phoenix Sister Cities, Inc., beginning July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, to support program coordination in youth and education, municipal and technical cooperation, business, and arts and culture with Phoenix's 11 Sister Cities. Further request to authorize the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item. The total aggregate value of the contract will not exceed $1,775,000.

 

Report

Summary

Phoenix Sister Cities, Inc. (PSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1972. It is responsible for coordinating exchange programs in youth and education, municipal and technical cooperation, business, and arts and culture with Phoenix's 11 Sister Cities. Currently, the City of Phoenix has Sister Cities relationships with Calgary, Canada; Catania, Italy; Chengdu, China; Ennis, Ireland; Hermosillo, Mexico; Himeji, Japan; Grenoble, France; Prague, Czech Republic; Ramat-Gan, Israel; Suwon, South Korea; and Taipei, Taiwan.

 

PSC exists to create people-to-people relationships between the residents of Phoenix and its Sister Cities through commercial, educational, cultural and artistic exchange programs and events that create and sustain global, long-term, international partnerships and business opportunities for Phoenix. The City of Phoenix has contracted with PSC since the mid-1980s. The organization is administered by a Board of Directors composed of PSC Commissioner appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council, and the chairpersons of the 11 Sister Cities committees and the Disability Awareness Committee. Currently, five other community members serve as at-large Board members.

 

During the last contract period, July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2026, PSC coordinated the following:

  • Six delegation trips for elected officials, business leaders and members of the community. These delegations visited: Hermosillo, Mexico (2022); Taipei, Taiwan, Suwon, South Korea, and Himeji, Japan (2023); Ennis, Ireland (2023); Grenoble, France (2024); Catania, Italy (2024); and, Prague, Czech Republic (2025).  Each delegation trip included meetings with elected officials in the sister city, discussions with leaders in the arts and cultural communities, and dialogues and round-tables with business leaders.
  • Delegation visits from Suwon, South Korea (2021, 2023 and 2024); Ennis, Ireland (2024); Ramat Gan, Israel (2022); and Taipei, Taiwan (2019).  PSC also hosted trade missions from Calgary, Canada (2022, 2023 and 2024) and business missions from Prague, Czech Republic (2022 and 2023).
  • Youth Ambassador Exchanges for Phoenix-resident high school sophomore and juniors in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. PSC also worked with Ajou University in Suwon, South Korea to organize an exchange of law students in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
  • Several major cultural events with community partners. In 2022 and 2023, thousands of guests celebrated El Grito, recognizing Phoenix's relationship with Hermosillo, Mexico. In 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, Phoenix celebrated Double Ten - Taiwan's national holiday, recognizing Phoenix's relationship with Taipei. This year, Double Ten drew more than 5,000 participants to ASU West for a traditional Asian night market.
  • The 2024 and 2025 Phoenix Global Forum, in partnership with the International Economic Forum of the Americas. Drawing hundreds of C-Suite representatives of international companies, participants explored the many issues associated with globalization and the knowledge required to realize long-term sustainable growth.
  • The negotiation and ultimately successful signing of a sister cities agreement with Suwon, South Korea in October 2021.
  • The development of a soft-landing for companies from Phoenix's sister cities. Currently, two companies from Taiwan and two companies from Calgary, Canada are resident at Galvanize.

 

Beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-27, funding for PSC will support:

  •  Youth Ambassador scholarships to increase opportunities for youth/families unable to afford program costs (e.g., airfare, hosting).
  • Staff support for the adoption of up to four new Sister Cities: Braga, Portugal; a city in Africa - discussions are underway with Cape Town, South Africa; Medellin, Colombia; and a city in Australia - perhaps in the region around Melbourne (contingent upon City Council approval).
  • Staff support for Business Development programs - including a project to increase foreign direct investment in Phoenix; and expansion of efforts to attract businesses from Phoenix's sister cities.
  • Support for programming associated with the 50th anniversaries with sister cities Hermosillo, Mexico (2026); Himeji, Japan (2026); and, Taipei, Taiwan (2029).

 

The PSC program has been recognized by Sister Cities International for its excellence, receiving a number of awards during the past three decades as Best Overall Program, for Innovation in Youth Education, Innovation in Business, Trade and Professional Exchange, and for Best Overall Program in the United States (for a city with a population over 500,001). Most recently, PSC received the Best Overall Program (for a city with a population over 300,001) in 2022.

 

City funds pay for staff salaries and benefits. All PSC exchanges, events and travel are privately funded. The estimated annual expenditures for the five-year contract term are as follows:

  • FY 2026-27: $345,000
  • FY 2027-28: $350,000
  • FY 2028-29: $355,000
  • FY 2029-30: $360,000
  • FY 2030-31: $365,000

 

Procurement Information and Contract Term

In compliance with Section I, Paragraph 6 of Administrative Regulation 3.10, this procurement is a Special Circumstance Without Competition Determination. If approved, the term of this new five-year contract will be July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031. There are no options to extend this contract beyond the five-year period.

 

Financial Impact

The total aggregate value of the five-year contract will not exceed $1,775,000. Funding is available in the Community and Economic Development Department's Operating budget.

 

Concurrence/Previous Council Action

This item was recommended for approval by the Economic Development and the Arts Subcommittee at the November 12, 2025 meeting by a vote of 4-0.

 

Department

Responsible Department

This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Community and Economic Development Department.