SURGE Umbrella Program

The Sustainable Urban and Regional Development (SURGE) Umbrella Program is the World Bank’s central collaboration instrument for working with partners on building inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities in developing countries. SURGE consists of four global, one regional, and 10 country programs which work in a synergetic way across five thematic pillars. As of June 30, 2025, SURGE disbursed a total of $36.83 million, reaching 496 cities in 38 countries and informing 57 World Bank-supported investments amounting to $13.4 billion.

Approach

SURGE focuses on five priority pillars that enhance the livability of cities. While each pillar has its own thematic focus, all five pillars are closely interlinked and are complimentary.

Across the five thematic pillars, SURGE supports four types of activities, which assist governments of developing countries in strengthening and prioritizing their investment portfolios, through knowledge creation, capacity building, and stakeholder collaboration. The program also facilitates the mobilization of additional resources.

Partners

SURGE is supported by multiple donors. Its founding donor is the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Additional donors include the Republic of Austria’s Federal Ministry of Finance, the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, and the Korean Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) and the EU Commission (EU).