Mayor Robert Garcia announced today that Long Beach is one of 12
U.S. cities selected to participate in the $45 million expansion of
the prestigious Bloomberg Philanthropies Innovation Teams
program. The program, a project of former New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg, aims to improve the capacity of City Halls to
effectively design and implement new approaches that improve the
lives of residents – relying on data, open innovation, and
strong project and performance management to help cities address
pressing urban challenges.
The City of Long Beach will receive up to $3 million over three
years to create an innovation team, or "i-team," made up of a new
Chief Innovation Officer, a social scientist researcher, a data
programmer, a designer and technology innovation fellows. The
team will initially focus on economic development, advising the
City on how best to stimulate growth, create jobs, and leverage
City resources particularly through online delivery of City
services. The innovation team will also help the City develop and
implement innovative solutions for improving services, enhancing
civic engagement, and improving neighborhoods and business
districts, among other efforts. In future years, the team may shift
to focus on other issues in Long Beach.
“It's time to focus on innovative economic development for
the 21st Century," said Mayor Garcia. "We are honored and grateful
to Michael Bloomberg and his team at Bloomberg Philanthropies for
this recognition and the transformative opportunity it provides
us."
Long Beach was one of over 90 cities invited to apply for this
grant in August 2014. Mayor Garcia announced at his 100 day speech
that the City of Long Beach would compete and had applied for the
grant.
Innovation teams function as in-house innovation consultants,
moving from one city priority to the next. Using Bloomberg
Philanthropies' tested Innovation Delivery approach, the innovation
teams help guide agency leaders and staff through a data-driven
process to assess problems, generate responsive new interventions,
develop partnerships, and deliver measurable results.
The Long Beach innovation team will be led by Mayor Garcia and City
Manager Pat West. In addition to the grants, cities receive robust
implementation support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and
opportunities to exchange lessons learned and best practices with
peers in other cities. Newly formed innovation teams will hit the
ground running in each city no later than spring 2015. Innovation
team grants will also go to the U.S. cities of Albuquerque, NM;
Boston, MA; Centennial, CO; Jersey City, NJ; Long Beach, CA; Los
Angeles, CA; Mobile, AL; Minneapolis, MN; Peoria, IL; Rochester,
NY; Seattle, WA; and Syracuse, NY. Bloomberg Philanthropies also
announced that two non-U.S. cities will receive innovation team
grants: Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
The innovation grants are the second round made through Bloomberg
Philanthropies’ Government Innovation portfolio, which
focuses on promoting public sector innovation. The first round of
grants were made to the cities of Atlanta, Chicago, Louisville,
Memphis, and New Orleans. Successes include reducing 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.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies' mission is to ensure better, longer lives
for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five
key areas for creating lasting change: Public Health, Environment,
Education, Government Innovation and the Arts. Bloomberg
Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's charitable
activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In
2013, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $452 million. For more
information on the philanthropy, please visit bloomberg.org or
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@BloombergDotOrg.