1.
ACCELERATING CITIES’
INNOVATION CAPACITY
OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative

2.
‘We believe in a bottom-up approach to
municipal innovation strategy. Each councilor,
each department director and each public
official knows very well their specific areas of
work and can deliver very precise and
accurate solutions to citizens’ needs. We
believe in creating a big picture and political
leadership at the highest level is essential, but
always taking into account this close-to-the-
citizen approach in everything we do’
BILBAO, SPAIN
‘One of the ways Philadelphia defines
innovation is rigorously testing new programs
and prototypes through the use of evidence-
based methods. These methods include
behavioral science, human-centered design
and trauma-informed care’
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
‘Our Innovation Office works as an internal
consultant to other departments. When you
have complex problem that you’ve tried
different solutions for but can’t move the
needle, that’s when we come in. We focus on
unpacking the problem so that the
stakeholders and decision makers might see it
differently and see new opportunities for
solutions. We then support an iterative process
to understand the problem and prototype
solutions to it’
AUSTIN, TEXAS
‘In Ljubljana we are putting innovation and live
laboratory into practice. We are testing new
concepts and reacting to initiatives from
different stakeholder groups’
LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
INNOVATION CAPACITY: A COMPLEX DEFINITION
• capability to innovate
• motivation to innovate
• opportunity to innovate
3 factors may explain
public sector
innovation

3.
SURVEY STRUCTURE
Funding DataStaffing &
Structure
OutcomesDefinition, Goals
& Approaches
Drivers – Enablers – Obstacles - Results

4.
Cities surveyed
Are mid-sized cities of
200 000-499 000 inhabitants
Of cities from USA/Canada
WHO RESPONDED?
1/3
89
64%

5.
Organisational
arrangements
Openness to
partnership
Data
management
capability
ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
Endogenous factors
Exogenous factors
Leadership
Innovation team
Dedicated funding
Capacity to collect data
Capacity to analyse data
Access to technology
Citizen interactionPartnerships

6.
Address the
impacts of
global
megatrends
Improve
service
delivery
portfolio
Spur
economic
growth
WHAT IS DRIVING INNOVATION IN CITIES?
Digitalisation and
automatisation
Climate change & resource
scarcity
Demographic changes
Attraction of business &
qualify professionals
Cost reduction of
public service delivery
Economic resiliency

7.
INNOVATION TEAMS AT A GLANCE
82% 60% 56% 56% 48% 34% 28%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All cities surveyed
US/Canada only
Project
Manager
Community
Engagement
Staff
Designer Data /
Computer
Scientist
Communications /
Marketing
Engineer Sociologist
• The majority of cities
have fewer than 10 staff
dedicated to innovation
• Only 21% of innovation
teams have existed for
more than 5 years
• Around half of
innovation teams sit in
the Mayor’s or City
Manager’s office

8.
-5
10
25
40
55
70
Culture
Social inclusion/equity
Labour markets
Social welfare/services
Tourism
Digital governance
Economic
Development
Education
Health
Housing
Environment/climate
change
Blight
Land use/zoning
Mobility
Waste/sewage
Built environment
Water
Policing/law
enforcement
POLICY AREAS & DATA
-5
10
25
40
55
70
Culture
Social
inclusion/equity
Labour markets
Social
welfare/services
Tourism
Digital governance
Economic
Development
Education
Health
Housing
Environment/climat
e change
Blight
Land use/zoning
Mobility
Waste/sewage
Built environment
Water
Policing/law
enforcement
Sufficient data Insufficient data

9.
FUNDING
More than 90%
of all cities have
funding from
their municipal
budget
MUNICIPAL
BUDGET
A larger share of
cities outside
US/Canada
receive funding
from the national
government,
36% vs 11%
NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT
Non-public
funding is more
prevalent in
US/Canada: of
this, 93% of non-
public funding
comes from
philanthropy
NON-PUBLIC
FUNDING
77%
of cities have dedicated funding to support
innovation capacity

10.
ARE CITIES ACHIEVING THEIR INNOVATION GOALS?
Going well
33%
Going so-so
21%
Too early / Can’t yet say
31%
Other
34%
of cities conduct
a comprehensive
& systematic
evaluation of the
impacts of their
innovation
strategy
16%

11.
DATA
MANAGEMENT
ORGANISATIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS
INNOVATION
GOVERNANCE
A CHECKLIST FOR PUBLIC ACTION

12.
INNOVATION CITY SNAPSHOTS
CHECK OUT YOUR
CITY’S INNOVATION
SNAPSHOTS

13.
Spotlight : Stockholm (Sweden)
Gunnar Björkman,
Director of Innovation
City of Stockholm (Sweden)

14.
Gunnar Björkman
Innovationsdirektör
Stockholms stad
Västerås stad 24 augusti 2017
Innovationsarbetet i Stockholms stad
Stockholms main challenges
County of Stockholm
City of Stockholm
Population
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
50,000
0
1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
Growing population
Globalization
Climate change
The geography
Inhabitants
???

15.
Vision: Stockholm - the smartest city in the world

16.
Digital Demo Stockholm
Digital Demo Stockholm (DDS) is an example one regional collaboration
between the public sector, business communities and the higher
education of Stockholm.
• Should demonstrate that digital technology can generate attractive solutions to
support the needs of a society and it’s residents.
• The public sector will define its future challenges that need to be resolved

17.
Fundings
Public
procurement
law
Other
legislation
and policies
(e.g. GDPR)
Municipal law
Intellectual
Patent Rights
IPR
Technical
platforms
Challenges and barriers for the city to fully
realise its innovation capacity
Culture and leadership

18.
Advice …

19.
Spotlight : New York City (USA)
Carson C. Hicks
Deputy Executive Director
Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity
City of New York (USA)

20.
20
Innovation work occurs throughout NYC government and also within a dedicated municipal innovation lab
– the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity.
Innovation in New York City
The People of the City of New York
New York City is made up of a diverse population of 8.6 million
residents.
Office of Mayor Bill de Blasio
The Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity)
is an innovation lab embedded centrally in the Mayor’s Office of
Operations.
City Agencies
Over 40 City agencies responsible for delivering services
to the public report to the Mayor.

21.
21
Using Evidence & Innovation to Reduce Poverty & Promote Equity
NYC Opportunity advances
research, data and design
in the City’s program and
policy development, service
delivery, and budget
decisions.
We recognize that
innovation is fundamentally
about getting better results,
and demands a commitment
to assess outcomes
rigorously, capture and
respond to lessons, and
accept the risk that some
efforts will fail.

22.
22
NYC Opportunity Capacities
Design
Develop solutions rooted in
insights about the
experiences of those affected
by public services and
facilitate collaboration with
stakeholders.
Data Integration
Facilitate inter-agency data
sharing and integration
through established
enterprise technologies,
data standards and legal
frameworks.
Research
Produce annual reports
measuring poverty and
inequality: NYCgov Poverty
Measure and Social Indicators
Report. Conduct rapid
research on a variety of topics
to drive evidence-based policy
making.
Evaluation
Manage 8 backdrop
contracts used to conduct a
variety of evaluation
activities from focus groups
to randomized control
trials.
Program Management
Design, implement and
manage performance and
fiscal monitoring for over
70 programs designed to
reduce poverty and meet
the needs of low-income
New Yorkers programs.
Digital Products
Develop and manage best in
class digital products that
are beautiful, easy-to-use,
and work on any device.
In the de Blasio Administration, NYC Opportunity supports Citywide initiatives with expertise in
evaluation, design, research, data integration, technology and performance management.

23.
23
Supporting the de Blasio administration’s priority to make equity a core governing principle across all
agencies
Roles in Building a Strong & Fair City
We have helped to shape
OneNYC, the City’s long-range
planning document, which
includes a strong focus on equity
and an ambitious goal to reduce
poverty.

24.
24
Producing research that helps NYC better understand and respond to issues of poverty, economic
mobility & equity within the city
Roles in Building a Strong & Fair City
We have created our own
NYC-specific poverty measure
and we calculate it every year,
including for a range of
demographic groups, providing
important data for the city’s anti-
poverty work.

25.
25
Building evidence about what works to reduce poverty so the City can allocate resources to more
effective strategies
Roles in Building a Strong & Fair City
We worked collaboratively with
partners to design, implement,
and rigorously evaluate a
program for community college
students – and then to scale the
approach based on its proven
success improving graduation
rates.

26.
26
Applying data, technology and service design to facilitate more holistic, effective service delivery
Roles in Building a Strong & Fair City
nyc.gov/accessnyc
Our ACCESS NYC
initiative has made
government benefits
far more transparent
to low-income New
Yorkers and made it
easier for them to
receive the help they
are entitled to.

27.
27
In more than 10 years of operation, we have learned a lot about fostering and supporting innovation
within City government.
Lessons Learned
Some of our key lessons include:
– Innovation and Evidence-Building Go Hand-in-Hand
– Strong Leadership is Critical
– A Lot Can be Learned from Failure
– Innovation Requires Human and Financial Resources
– Collaboration is Key
– Design Should be Human-Centered

28.
nyc.gov/opportunity

29.
Spotlight : Syracuse (USA)
Adria Finch
Director of Innovation
City of Syracuse (USA)

30.
Innovation
Data Accountability
Performance

31.
Spotlight: Montreal (Canada)
Stéphane Guidoin,
Director
Laboratory of Urban Innovation
City of Montreal (Canada)

32.
Enhancing innovation for
Montréal
Laboratoire d’innovation
urbaine

33.
42Laboratoire d’innovation
urbaine
About Montréal
Montréal City
● Pop: ~1.8M
● 19 boroughs
● Highly decentralized
Montréal island
● Pop: ~2M, 12 cities
Montréal metro area
● Pop: ~4M, 82 cities

34.
Recent innovation activities
● 2014: Creation of the Smart city office
○ Montréal Smart and digital action plan 2015-2017
● 2017: Action plan evaluation - need for a real
innovation approach
● 2018: The smart city office become an innovation lab
with 3 pillars
○ Citizen engagement
○ Data
○ Innovation processes
43Laboratoire d’innovation
urbaine

35.
Smart city challenge
● Launched by the federal government in nov. 2017
● Montréal selected as finalist in june 2018
● Montréal, winner in the 50M$ category in may 2019
● Main projects:
○ Smart and local mobility
○ Access to food for vulnerable people
○ Data trusts
○ Governance and regulatory experiments
44Laboratoire d’innovation
urbaine

36.
The (not so) secret ingredients
● Work local with the communities: call for projects,
combination of city-lead and external projects,
support communities
○ Hybrid projects (internal/external)
● Iterative processes supported by short cycle
feedback loops
● The best metrics are not usually the most obvious…
and might change.
45Laboratoire d’innovation
urbaine

37.
Discussant
Stephanie Wade
Government Innovation
Bloomberg Philanthropies

38.
Q&A

39.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
PARTICIPATION!
QUESTIONS: CHAMPIONMAYORS@OECD.ORG