Newsletter

Local governments everywhere are showing resilience, speed, and innovative spirit in the face of an unprecedented crisis. They are taking risks, failing, and learning as they go. But this spirit of experimentation and learning from failure is all too rare in local government. Join this webinar for an expert panel where city leaders, technologists, and innovators discuss why it is usually so hard to learn from failure in government and what governments and their allies can do about it. The panel discussion is taking place Thursday, August 6, 2020 from 1- 2 p.m. EDT. Follow this link to learn more. This panel coincides with the new release of How to Fail (Forward): A Framework for Fostering Innovation in the Public Sector, a report from the Centre for Public Impact and the Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation. Sourced from: Centre for Public Impact

With widespread food insecurity across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were called in March to support regional food bank warehouses and local pantries. In addition to that support, about 15 Guard members helping at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank had a unique task assigned to them at an off-site location – build an urban farm. The Mid-Ohio Farm on the Hilltop in the Hilltop neighborhood just west of downtown Columbus will provide the food bank with quick access to fresh, local produce while also serving as a place to provide hands-on education for the local communities. Follow this link to read more. Sourced from: U.S. Army

It’s been four years since the city of Columbus was declared the winner of the U.S. Department of Transportation Smart Cities Challenge. Now, several grant-supported projects by The Ohio State University are reaching their conclusions. Researchers at Ohio State agree the work for a smarter Columbus is just getting started. David Cooke, senior associate director of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) and one of the university partners with Smart Columbus, said the lessons learned from the program will have a long-term impact. “What [the smart cities grant] brought to the city of Columbus is to really put us at the forefront of mobility and smart cities research on a national scale,” Cooke said. “[CAR has been] engaged in automotive research for 30 years doing a subset of this work, very specifically on vehicle design and systems development, but mobility is much broader than just the vehicle.” Follow this link to read more. Sourced from: The Ohio State University

As cities across the country consider ways that they can address the growing inequities throughout their communities, an important element is where a municipality’s money is located and how it is leveraged for greater social impact. As cities begin to set a path for economic recovery post-COVID-19, local leaders should consider their municipality’s relationship with its financial partners as another means toward eliminating economic inequities caused by institutional racism and financial exclusion. Follow this link to learn more. Soured from: Cities Speak