With many of the boldest initiatives, it\u2019s women in local government who are leading the charge<\/p>\n
This article is from Bloomberg Cities<\/a>, which is run by Bloomberg Philanthropies\u2019 Government Innovation program. Sign up for their free weekly newsletter here<\/a>. <\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n The past two years have seen unprecedented amounts of local-level innovation, as cities raced to set up testing and vaccine clinics, protect workers and businesses, and keep vulnerable residents fed.<\/p>\n These efforts, which were built on more than a decade of critical investments Bloomberg Philanthropies has made to strengthen and spread public-sector innovation, are now sparking even bolder and more ambitious solutions as cities begin to turn more attention toward recovery. With many of the boldest initiatives, it\u2019s women in local government who are leading the charge.<\/p>\n As we observe Women’s History Month, we spoke with women across the Bloomberg Cities network to learn more about their envelope-pushing work, how they\u2019re using key innovation tools\u2014including experimentation, resident engagement, collaboration, data, and bold leadership\u2014to drive these efforts, and what other cities might learn from their work. Here are their stories.<\/p>\n Andrea Apolaro<\/strong><\/p>\n Coordinator of MVDLAB; Montevideo, Uruguay<\/p>\n Residents are the experts of their cities. They know their problems better than anyone else and often have good ideas for how to address those problems. That\u2019s core to how cities apply human-centered design<\/a> in their work, and it’s critical to how Andrea Apolaro thinks of Montevideo\u2019s MVDLAB<\/a>, a laboratory that brings together residents from different backgrounds to develop projects. When the lab put out a call for solutions for the city\u2019s future, they received 60 proposals from 100 collaborators focused around key themes such as equity, resilience, and migration. From there, 10 proposals were selected for prototyping and testing, and several of them are now on their way to being implemented. For Apolaro, this space represents what\u2019s possible when government becomes more open by fostering collaboration and actively listening to residents. \u201cThe greatest achievement for the Montevideo Innovation Lab,\u201d she says, \u201cis taking advantage of the collective intelligence in order to create public value for all.\u201d<\/p>\n Elena Bolbolian <\/strong><\/p>\n Director of Innovation, Performance and Audit, Glendale, USA<\/p>\n Remote work was once rare in the public sector. Then the pandemic hit, forcing cities overnight to embrace working from home and to maintain and launch new programs that would keep residents safe. Now, as city workers return to the office, Elena Bolbolian is shepherding Glendale<\/strong>\u2019s first hybrid work policy, intended to boost employee morale and ensure city hall remains competitive with other sectors. This \u201cdoes not come easy to government,\u201d shares Bolbolian \u2014 which is why it was so important to ground the policy in data. A survey of eligible employees found 89 percent had interest in a hybrid work schedule. From there, Bolbolian explored remote work policies from eight agencies and took the best practices from each one. A key feature of the policy is eligible employees must work out of the office at least 50 percent of the time. When it comes to developing new policies, she admits not everyone was on board. \u201cManaging a remote workforce requires a different way of working,\u201d says Bolbolian, who recently honed her human-centered design skills in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Innovation Training program<\/a>. \u201cThis shift requires that we accept that employees be measured by their output as opposed to an agreed-upon set of hours or bodies in chairs.\u201d <\/p>\n Susana Carillo<\/strong><\/p>\n Deputy Mayor for Innovation and Urban Digitalization, M\u00e1laga, Spain<\/p>\n Susana Carillo is turning M\u00e1laga <\/strong>into a Living Lab where new solutions focused on sustainability can be tested and deployed. The goal? \u201cTo create a collaborative innovation ecosystem with companies, universities, and administration, incorporating citizens at the center of it,\u201d she explains. The initiative has already drawn more than \u20ac200 million in European funds for innovation projects and has secured companies like Google and Vodafone as partners. The city and its collaborators have already begun targeting projects around smart energy grids and electric mobility. While these projects may seem very centered around new tech, Carillo says that\u2019s not the primary focus of the Living Lab. \u201cWe have learned that innovation is not just about implementing technology, but about how to make smart decisions to improve the quality of life for our citizens helping us to achieve a more flexible, more liveable, safer, and more welcoming city.\u201d <\/p>\n Anne-Marie Croce <\/strong><\/p>\n Chief Innovator, Customer Experience Transformation and Innovation Toronto, Canada<\/p>\n When Anne-Marie Croce and Toronto<\/strong>\u2019s i-team set out to address affordable housing, which was only exacerbated by the pandemic, speaking to residents with lived experience was a top priority. They tapped into grassroots Facebook groups, conducted nearly 200 surveys, and translated outreach materials in a city where 180 languages are spoken. \u201cWe engaged more than 1,500 residents and heard that this was the first time some felt as though their housing challenges were validated,\u201d shares Croce, adding that this was particularly true among lone-parent households and Indigenous peoples. The team produced an Eviction Prevention Handbook<\/a>, complete with templates of letters residents can send their landlords. In addition to drawing 3,500 visitors a month online, Croce had hard copies printed and distributed in neighborhoods where internet access is limited. \u201cAs the digital divide continues to increase, it\u2019s important to design digital and paper-based services to accommodate various socio-economic groups,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Petra Dzurov\u010dinov\u00e1<\/strong><\/p>\n Chief Innovation Officer Bratislava, Slovakia<\/p>\n Petra Dzurov\u010dinov\u00e1 sees building better digital services as a way local governments can build trust with residents. It\u2019s worked while prototyping, testing, and implementing new digital tools for Bratislava <\/strong>residents while participating in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Innovation Initiative<\/a>. \u201cBefore we launch any service, we vigorously test it with residents and stakeholders,\u201d she says, adding that the process ensures people feel heard and their needs are addressed. Working this way means acting in the open and getting comfortable showing residents, colleagues, and stakeholders plans and unfinished work, Dzurov\u010dinov\u00e1 says. \u201cIt requires a different mindset to show something unfinished. It makes you vulnerable, but also can bring great effects.\u201d <\/p>\n Liza Farr <\/strong><\/p>\n Director of Curb Management Providence, USA <\/p>\n Curb space in cities has become hotly contested zones for drop offs, pickups, and parking of everything from scooters to electric vehicles. When she started as the first ever curbside administrator for Providence<\/strong>, Liza Farr knew she would need data on all of it to make good decisions. Zeroing in on parking meters to start with, she went out and walked the city\u2019s streets, using a smartphone app to catalog them. The data inventory is already helping the city to manage and fix the meters. She also mapped curb regulations on a key commercial corridor, enabling her to have more informed conversations with business owners and residents. \u201cI won\u2019t pretend that fancy, custom-built technology solutions aren\u2019t helpful,\u201d explains Farr, who participated in a Bloomberg Philanthropies-sponsored training around applying a missions-oriented mindset<\/a> in local government. “But there\u2019s a lot you can do with pretty simple stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Christine Keung<\/strong><\/p>\n Chief Data Officer, San Jos\u00e9, USA<\/p>\n In San Jos\u00e9<\/strong>, Christine Keung has built a team whose focus is using data to help city leaders retool programs to produce equitable outcomes for residents. In a year, the team has completed six data projects for six different departments. One of those projects led the city to dramatically increase outreach around a city-funded scholarship program to ensure access for low-income families who get the most benefit from it. Keung explains that the team looks to empower frontline city staff with the insights data can open up for them to improve the thousands of small decisions that impact residents\u2019 experiences. \u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re not doing analysis for analysis\u2019 sake,\u201d Keung says. The goal is \u201cmaking government decision-making more transparent and accountable to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n Shani Leiman <\/strong><\/p>\n Innovation Team Director, Bat Yam, Israel<\/p>\n When Shani Leiman and the Bat Yam<\/strong> i-team looked at the problem of improving cleanliness of streets, plazas, and other public spaces, they discovered that part of the issue was private property outside city control. When residents neglect upkeep on their own yards, it encourages people all around to litter. They learned this through in-depth interviews with residents and close observation of how people behave in public. Leiman and her team worked with property owners and municipal stakeholders to design a new model in which the city offers basic cleaning and gardening services to private buildings by charging a small monthly fee. At least three quarters of the residents of any building need to agree to the fee in order to participate. \u201cFor the first time, the city took responsibility on private property and offered a sustainable solution,\u201d Leiman says. \u201cOnly after analyzing the local laws, having examples from other cities, and providing research results, was I able to convince the partners in the municipality.\u201d<\/p>\n Solange Muhirwa<\/strong><\/p>\n Chief of Urban Planning, Kigali, Rwanda<\/p>\n Nearly two-thirds of Kigali<\/strong>\u2019s 1.6 million residents live in informal settlements with limited access to water and sanitation services. Solange Muhirwa leads a project that will enable residents to harvest and store rainwater underground, reducing residents\u2019 dependence on commercial water and helping to mitigate flooding. It also will introduce a smart waste disposal system that enables residents to segregate waste in bins that alert collection companies when they\u2019re full. The project, developed in close collaboration with residents in affected neighborhoods, was one of 15 to win<\/a> a $1 million prize in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Mayors Challenge<\/a>. \u201cThis is one of the most exciting projects we have done as a city,\u201d Muhirwa explains. It\u2019s \u201cworking directly with the community using the power of nature and technology and letting nature guide us to ideal solutions that address residents\u2019 needs.\u201d<\/p>\n Regina Gardu\u00f1o Ni\u00f1o<\/strong><\/p>\n Deputy Director of National and International Relations, Mexico City, Mexico<\/p>\n One of Regina Gardu\u00f1o Ni\u00f1o\u2019s key roles is to make sure that solutions developed by Mexico City<\/strong>\u2019s Digital Agency for Public Innovation spread to cities across Mexico and other countries as well. \u201cMexico City now has policies and tools related to digital transformation that most governments in Latin America do not have yet in place,\u201d she says\u2014and with a new innovation team focused on digital projects<\/a>, the city is poised to deliver many more solutions to come.<\/strong> But peer-to-peer sharing isn\u2019t a one-way street. Mexico City has lots to learn from other cities as well, and the city saves time and money by learning from others\u2019 experiences. \u201cLatin American cities face common challenges that could be solved if we continue to work together and exchange our expertise,\u201d Gardu\u00f1o Ni\u00f1o says. \u201cDespite our differences, there are many common traits we should continue to explore.\u201d <\/p>\n Gina Obiri<\/strong><\/p>\n Program Manager, Performance & Innovation, Minneapolis, USA<\/p>\n When Gina Obiri and her colleagues with the Minneapolis <\/strong>i-team asked residents how they felt about shifting certain service calls from police to other responders, they got a staggering 23,551 comments and suggestions. The feedback formed the basis of two new pilot programs. One is focused on how the city responds to mental-health emergencies. Instead of engaging the police, those calls are now routed to two-person behavioral response teams trained in crisis intervention and counseling. The other is aimed at non-emergency calls, such as problems with street parking, which now get routed to 311. Obiri\u2019s work on the pilots was underway before George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, and has become a critical part of the city\u2019s response since. \u201cThere was this immeasurable grief, and civil unrest, and all the effects of the pandemic,\u201d Obiri says. \u201cAnd it just fueled our commitment to making sure that we did read through all 23,551 of those open-ended responses. It was our duty to make sure that we really got all the information that we could from their experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n Egle Radvile<\/strong><\/p>\n Chief Innovation Officer, Vilnius, Lithuania<\/p>\n From its participation in Bloomberg Philanthropes\u2019 Digital Innovation Initiative<\/a> to winning the Global Mayors Challenge<\/a>, Vilnius<\/strong> is showing the world how investing in data and innovation drives results for residents. Chief Innovation Officer Egle Radvile is a critical part of making this work happen and has no plans to slow down any time soon. Using open data, Radvile is implementing an ambitious plan to create and operate three comprehensive maps of Vilnius that cover its underground, city level, and air space. The effort, she says, will allow real estate developers to make informed decisions, accelerate business growth and improve overall quality of life for residents. \u201cYou can change now and the future at the same time,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n