Reflect and reimagine:

A year-long program that supports governments’ ability to spark and sustain cultures of innovation. Failing Forward applies a top-down and bottom-up approach to spark and sustain culture changes

A capacity-building track of the Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative that expands cities’ ability to think outside the box and more effectively tackle challenging problems by putting residents at the center of designing and testing new ideas. In 2021, 11 cities and 96 core team members benefited from the Innovation Track.

A program where interdisciplinary city teams build core innovation capacities as they design, test, and prototype solutions to a pressing city problem. In 2021, 12 cities representing 84 departments received Innovation Training.

A yearlong competition that challenged hundreds of cities to submit their most innovative solutions to a pressing urban challenge. In 2021, the Challenge went global, with 600+ cities from around the world working to address challenges made worse by COVID-19.

A 10-week program designed and executed by CPI where cities and counties work to address past harms experienced by marginalized communities, understand and dismantle inequitable power dynamics, and rebuild more legitimate systems.

A network of public officials from 21 states, 28 localities, and six community partners devoted to rapidly scaling COVID-19 testing, tracing, masking, and vaccination, while ensuring equitable distribution and access.

An 18-week sprint where cities leverage public data, technology, and community input to address community challenges. In 2021, Saint Paul and San José focused on housing-related challenges caused or exacerbated by COVID-19.

A series of 30 interviews conducted by CPI with 12 local governments to understand their most significant roadblocks to building inclusive economies and explore how CPI and other changemakers can best support them.

• Governments must make significant changes to how they work - taking a step back from the status quo to reflect on their internal culture, priorities, and definitions of success.

• Governments should examine their role in the community and intentionally build partnerships to fill gaps.

• Communities are better served when we push governments to prioritize building relationships as a part of our programming.

• Building relationships to the point where you can cocreate with residents, rather than simply gain resident feedback, is a long-term effort that will be challenging.

• Before programming kicks off focus curriculum on solving relevant issues, invest in setting up a strong core team, adapt the curriculum to the local context, and consider how technology can benefit programming.

• During programming build infrastructure for reflection and learning, vary the structure of meetings and workshops, be prepared to adapt, and seek regular feedback.