Building innovation capabilities within city teams.
About CPI and the innovation track of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
CPI partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies and Harvard University to design and manage the innovation track of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, where interdisciplinary city teams build innovation capabilities as they design, test, and prototype solutions to a pressing city problem.
About the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative advances leadership, management, and innovation in cities.
Within the Initiative, CPI supports the innovation track, which helps cities adopt cutting-edge innovation techniques that engage residents in testing, adapting, and scaling ideas with the potential for long-term impact. Participating cities receive nine months of tailored coaching to learn about design concepts and implement them in their city.
Innovation track impact
45 cities and towns across the nation have participated in the City Leadership Initiative in the innovation track
499 public employees were participants
2,524 residents have been contacted and engaged with as part of the City Leadership Initiative as part of the innovation track
99% of participants would recommend the program to their peers
99% of surveyed participants learned new skills and met their learning objectives
99% of participants are still applying the skills and processes they learned in the program
Testimonials
"Participating in this project has been an honor. The fact that HR senior management selected me to be on this team - I felt validated and recognized for the work I’ve done. It was important to me to do something meaningful outside of my usual ‘run the business’ duties before I retire. It’s been amazing to work with people from 11 different departments. Hearing resident’s different experiences and perspectives has been eye-opening and I’m grateful for the chance to be a part of this team. I’d like to thank Harvard, Bloomberg and CPI for picking the City of Boise to do this!"
“I feel more responsibility than ever to do [resident] engagement... The benefit of it is to slow down and make decisions that are informed on what’s good for the public… that’s the point of my job.”
"Participating in the Center for Public Impact [Innovation Training] course taught me to think outside of the box in all aspects of my life, both professional and personal. My work is centered around engaging with and supporting our Providence communities, and I look forward to the new ways we'll be able to serve individuals through these innovations."
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