Local governments worldwide are constantly evolving to address pressing problems that impact residents’ daily lives. From climate action to housing solutions, cities, residents, and their leaders face issues and opportunities that demand innovation.
To support these efforts, the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University has released the Path to Public Innovation Playbook and Toolkit, comprehensive resources that share best practices from more than 10 years of Innovation Team (i-team) experiences and resident-engagement initiatives.
The Playbook and Toolkit compile insights from cities worldwide, where public-sector i-teams and innovation-focused city leaders have successfully addressed issues such as paid family leave, property vacancy, public safety, social service delivery, and more.
These experiences inform a tested innovation methodology that local government leaders are applying to drive meaningful change in their communities.
A Proven Approach to Public Innovation
“Cities are uniquely positioned to tackle the most important problems facing people’s everyday lives, but their leadership rarely operates in a structure that supports innovative problem-solving,” said Amanda Daflos, Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins. “We are now making our tested innovation method available to all mayors, state, and public leaders at a time when their missions to tackle the biggest issues facing their residents are more important than ever.”
The field of public innovation has grown significantly as more local governments establish dedicated innovation roles and structures. Local government innovation units, including i-teams, increased tenfold from 2010 to 2016 and tripled again from 2016 to 2022. Today, cities around the world use public innovation methods to develop new solutions for procurement, youth homelessness, service delivery, and other complex challenges that don’t fit neatly into a single government department.
Impacting Cities Across the Globe
Since 2010, i-teams and innovation units have spearheaded solutions to both immediate and longstanding issues. Some key successes include:
- In Reykjavík, Iceland, where the city’s i-team partnered with the Mayor’s office to develop child welfare interventions that include at-home student counseling and parental strategy sessions to support children with anxiety.
- In Baltimore, Maryland, where the city is using the Path’s innovation methodology and framework to address vacancy progression and public safety challenges.
- In Mexico City, where the Agencia Digital de Innovación Publica (ADIP) and the city’s i-team worked collaboratively with city agencies to expand access to city services for six million users (approximately 87% of the city’s adult population) while also helping establish the world’s largest public Wi-Fi network.
- In Orlando, Florida, where a cross-agency collaboration led to increased support for youth experiencing homelessness, securing over $8.3 million in grants to enhance services.
- In Istanbul, where the i-team developed “Pay it Forward,” a digital platform that connects people in need with residents willing to provide assistance, particularly in cases where city budgets are limited.
- In Boise, Idaho, where innovation-trained leaders introduced accessory dwelling units and new rental assistance programs, engaging over 100 residents in housing solutions within the first year.
- In Mobile, Alabama, where the city’s i-team championed globally-celebrated efforts to advance access to affordable housing and address property vacancy, starting with leveraging free tools like Instagram.
“Those of us who have served on the front lines know that innovation is more than a buzzword and that with the right methods and tools, the impossible or long-avoided progress can become the realities that we as people, residents, and community members need,” said Justin Entzminger, Innovation Director at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins and former Executive Director of Innovate Memphis. “From clean water access to creating safer environments for families, I have seen the Path method shared in the Playbook generate hundreds of real solutions for people.”
Resource Now Available for All Public Leaders
Government leaders, policymakers, and public servants at every level who are looking to implement innovation-driven approaches to their most pressing challenges are encouraged to download the Path to Public Innovation Playbook and Toolkit at publicinnovation.jhu.edu/the-path.
