On July 11th the City’s Innovation Ecosystem team hosted its first ever Innovation Showcase for City employees and partners. The event began with team members Andrew Buss and Tara Woody sharing information about our current Innovation programming: the Academy for Municipal Innovation, the Innovation Fund, and Innovation Consulting. We were also joined by Eric Fitzgerald Reed, Vice President of Verizon’s Public Policy and State Government Affairs, PA & DE Region, to announce a new program for City employees, the Idea Accelerator.
The Idea Accelerator
The Idea Accelerator will advance the Innovation Ecosystem by creating more continuity between the Academy and the Fund. It will also allow more City employees to get involved in the Innovation Ecosystem and receive training in the tools of innovation and design thinking.
Three project teams will be identified and invited by the Innovation Advisory Board to participate in Cohort 1 in January 2025. The teams selected will participate in a four-part series facilitated by the Innovation Team and external partners to:
- Define their problem
- Understand their problem
- Identify solutions
- Write a proposal
The goal for Cohort 1 Project Teams is to develop a fully refined proposal to submit for the Innovation Fund Spring Cycle. The Idea Accelerator will allow us to provide intentional support for applicants to develop strong ideas and pitches, test promising ideas for resident-facing programs and services, and continue advancing the Innovation Network and understanding of municipal innovation across the City.
Showcasing a decade of Innovation
The event was supported by Academy Alumni volunteers and three previous Innovation Fund grantees. Alumni demonstrated innovation tools for participants, introducing them to some of the curriculum for the Academy of Municipal Innovation. Innovation Fund grantees set up tables with information about their funded projects and shared the impact the Fund had on testing their ideas and securing long term funding. The Philadelphia Department of Prisons Orchard Project brought fresh produce for people to try and the Office of Immigrant Affairs shared their new Multi-Lingual Business Owner videos. These were two examples of successful and creative projects made possible by the Innovation Fund.
The event was attended by over 70 City employees, partners, and members of the media. It was a great opportunity to visit with colleagues and further expose them to the Innovation programming. We hope to continue growing our Innovation Ecosystem to provide opportunities to enable government to be more creative, thoughtful, and innovative.
