In the continuing effort to “get things done” these days, local governments have to be a little more creative as budgets tighten and citizens demand more accountability. Bold ideas are needed to find effective partnerships, collaborative possibilities, and proven or promising solutions. Since the beginning of December we have been posting articles on our Facebook page to spark your imagination for some new ideas or initiatives that could make Charleston more livable. Two recent posts introduce some efforts that are prompting creative change within local government.
Jes Howen McBride’s article on GOOD magazine’s website explores some creativity among public sector employees, and how one city has chosen to specifically incentivize the city staff to put forth workable ideas with a focus on greater efficiencies, quality of life, and measurable impact. On November 6, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the creation of a $1 million “Innovation Fund,” that rewards creative solutions proposed, “ not by professionals in the art or tech industries, but by city employees.” He highlighted how one city employee, frustrated by the waste of air conditioning running all the time in his building, developed a bright red button that would enable the last-person-to-leave-the-premises with the ability to shut down the system overnight. You can follow this program’s development at www.innovate.lacity.org.
On another, more systematized front, Bloomberg Philanthropies has just announced a second round of grants for various cities to implement its Innovation Delivery methodology for creative problem solving and responsive intervention in city government. The funds are directed at the creation of staff-level “innovation teams” who can assist a city’s mayor to both generate new ideas and develop the capacity to execute them. Examples of success in the first round of grants earlier this year include: reduction of retail vacancies in Memphis, minimizing unnecessary ambulance trips to the emergency room in Louisville, cutting licensing time for new restaurants in Chicago, reducing homelessness in Atlanta, and reducing the murder rate in New Orleans. You can read more about the program and some success stories here: www.bloomberg.org/program/government-innovation/innovation-teams/
Technology sets the stage for cities to innovate and explore new ideas. And many of those new ideas can come from you.
