LB Co-Lab
Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab) is a community-driven civic technology program that pairs community members with City staff to co-design and implement solutions that address bold City problems. The central premise of LB Co-Lab is that inviting Long Beach community members to participate directly in the co-design process will lead to more effective, accessible City solutions that address real neighborhood needs.
Vision:
LB Co-Lab will empower Long Beach residents by creating a participatory, democratic platform where community members and City officials collaboratively design and implement solutions to address real neighborhood needs. By leveraging technology and collaborative processes, LB Co-Lab seeks to create sustainable, scalable improvements that reflect the diverse needs and aspirations of Long Beach’s neighborhoods. As the City prepares for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, LB Co-Lab aspires to position Long Beach as a leader in community-driven innovation and civic pride.
How does the program work?
The LB Co-Lab Program is structured around four distinct but interconnected phases categorized by either divergent or convergent methodologies: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. Each phase is designed to guide the program from initial exploration to final implementation, ensuring that community-driven technology solutions are effectively realized and aligned with Long Beach's broader strategic goals.
The program will run for 24 months from Spring 2025 to Spring 2027.
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Discover Phase: The foundational stage of the LB Co-Lab Program, where we lay the groundwork for identifying and addressing key challenges that align with the strategic priorities of the 2028 Olympic Games. This phase is focused on gathering insights, validating problems, and engaging in the community to ensure that the selected challenges resonate with the needs and aspirations of Long Beach residents. |
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Define Phase: Crucial in transforming the initial broad challenges identified during the Discover Phase into specific, actionable opportunities for innovation. This phase is about honing the most impactful and feasible challenges that align with the program’s objectives and the community's needs. |
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Develop Phase: Dedicated to harnessing the creativity and expertise of external partners to generate solutions in response to the RFIs and then uplifting the expertise of pilot teams to evaluate innovative solutions that address the identified challenges. This phase emphasizes collaboration, experimentation, and community engagement, ensuring that the solutions developed later are both practical and impactful. |
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Deliver Phase: The final and most critical stage of the LB Co-Lab Program, where the selected solution is brought to life through a structured 12-month pilot implementation. This phase focuses on execution, continuous learning, and impact assessment to determine the viability of scaling the solution across Long Beach (Current phase) |
How do I participate?
- Everyone: Sign-up for the Smart City Initiative Newsletter via LinkLB! We share updates regarding LB Co-Lab and opportunities for partnerships through this centralized communication channel.
- City staff: Long Beach City officials were invited to submit bold and innovative challenge ideas. The three selected idea submissions will receive funding and guidance to implement a 12-month pilot solution. The submission form is currently closed.
- Innovators in Residence (IIR): 12 Long Beach community members have already been selected to co-design each pilot solution by lending their expertise and knowledge. For more information about the IIR opportunity, read the complete job decription in English, Español, Tagalog, or ខ្មែរ. Please note that the application period has already closed.
Key program enhancements:
The second iteration of LB Co-Lab introduces key changes in the idea challenge discovery process where City staff is first invited to submit challenge ideas helping build support to sustain the solutions ultimately implemented through LB Co-Lab. To finalize and move forward with the list of challenge ideas submitted, the following will occur.- TID will review each challenge first assessing for positive impact and alignment with community priorities.
- After the review, TID will poll the greater Long Beach community for direct feedback the ideas submitted.
- Selected Innovators in Residence will work alongside City staff to co-design a technology pilot solution that addresses one of the final challenge ideas submitted.
- Lastly, the challenge ideas submitted must support the City’s readiness and community building efforts for the 2028 Olympics. Long Beach is investing in long-term well-being of residents while also preparing for the 2028 Olympics.
Contact:
For any questions, about the LB Co-Lab, please email LB Co-Lab staff at smartcity@longbeach.gov.LB Co-Lab Announces Pilot Project Winners
Following the Community Demo Day event in November 2025, LB Co-Lab participants have selected three local organizations to work on important Citywide challenges.
+Find out who won!
