
Reimagining government in North America

Humanity faces complex challenges like the global pandemic, climate change, persistent racial and economic inequity, and a rise in misinformation.
But the systems, structures, and processes of government are often not set up to respond to these wicked problems; and only two-in-ten Americans say they trust the government to do what is right.
We help governments work differently, earn legitimacy, and deliver the outcomes that matter to all residents.
What we do
We act as a learning partner for governments, supporting them to make sense of complex challenges and drive meaningful change through experimentation.
Our North America team specializes in action research, capability building and transformation, and learning communities.

-
Action research: We dig deep, push the boundaries of current understanding, and explore topics critical to better government.
-
Capability building and transformation: We help governments build the capacity to transform cultures and work differently.
-
Learning communities: We convene public servants to share knowledge, accelerate learning, and improve government effectiveness.

Our impact
We are building a future of government where public servants can better reorient government cultures, empower residents, collaborate, and innovate to deliver the outcomes that matter. Since 2018, our team in North America has impacted:
236 government teams
1,866 public servants
4,791+ residents
When we surveyed public servants and changemakers who were directly involved in our programming:
96% of respondents report learning new skills
93% continue using learned processes & skills after their CPI program ends
96% would recommend working with CPI to a peer
Our programs, partners, and funders

Built for All
Building inclusive economies.
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and the Centre for Public Impact asked the experts: What is wrong with the economy? How can we fix it? See what we learned.

City Leadership Initiative
Fostering design-based government innovation.
A capacity-building track of the Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative that expands cities' ability to think outside the box, center residents, more effectively tackle challenging problems.

Data for Equity
Leveraging data for inclusive economic growth.
Launched by the Centre for Public Impact and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Data for Equity is a collaborative network of city governments working together to close wealth and opportunity gaps.
.png)
D.C. COVID-19 Response Collaborative
Responding to COVID-19.
Learn about the creation of a "peer learning network" to build a framework for D.C. schools to help each other navigate the challenges of testing and tracing. See how you can build a learning network of your own!
.png)
Earned Legitimacy Learning Cohort
Rebuilding trust in government.
A ten-week program during which governments work to address past harms experienced by marginalized communities, understand and dismantle inequitable power dynamics, and rebuild more legitimate systems.

Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies
Helping US governments address health disparities.
The ET4HS program helps local governments develop innovative approaches to address health disparities. As part of the program, participating cities join an international network dedicated to learning and sourcing solutions for health equity issues.
.png)
Failing Forward in Local Government
Building innovative government culture.
A year-long program in partnership with the National Association of County Administrators that applies a top-down and bottom-up approach to spark and sustain cultures of innovation.

How to Fail (Forward) Framework
Reorienting government failure and learning.
A collaboration between CPI and the Aspen Institute Centre for Urban Innovation focused on one topic: failure. Failure is at the root of any successful innovation project, but local governments’ ability to identify, learn from, and do something about failures are limited.
-(1).png)
Innovation Training
Supporting collaborative government innovation.
A program executed in partnership with the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation that supports interdisciplinary teams to build core innovation capacities as they design, test, and prototype solutions to a pressing city problem.

Mayors Challenge
Scaling breakthrough government innovations.
A year-long competition from Bloomberg Philanthropies that asks cities to submit their most innovative solutions to pressing challenges. In 2021, 600+ cities submitted solutions to problems exacerbated by COVID-19.

Opportunity to Impact
Evaluating investments’ for inclusive economic impact.
Developed with the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, O2I is a guide for evaluating an investment’s potential for positive social, economic, and environmental impact.

Pandemic Solutions Group
Collaborating for a better government response.
Executed in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation, a network of public officials from across the USA devoted to rapidly scaling equitable COVID-19 testing, tracing, masking, and vaccination.
.png)
Reimagining Public Value
Understanding and creating public value.
See how King County, Washington worked with CPI to expand from traditional government values of risk-aversion, control, and efficiency to their stated values of trust, sustainability, and equity

The Future of US Cities
Exploring how US cities are innovating to achieve impact.
Created in collaboration with Aspen Institute Centre for Urban Innovation, read the stories of city problem solvers all over America, surface the emerging practices from cities, and extract lessons from conversations with those within cities leading the charge.
.png)
The Opportunity Project for Cities
Using data and co-creating community solutions.
The Opportunity Project for Cities brings together governments, community leaders, and tech volunteers to address local challenges through the power of open data and community engagement.

West Philadelphia Skills Initiative
A model for urban workforce development.
In partnership with Drexel's Nowak Metro Finance Lab, this case study details a scalable workforce development model that has effectively increased community wealth in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Testimonials
How can we help?
Let’s have a conversation about how we can work together to build a better future of government and deliver the outcomes that matter.
Centre for Public Impact US is a registered 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization. More information on CPI's overall governance structure can be found here.