The Aspen Institute

How are city leaders using innovation to achieve impact for all residents?  On April 9, 2019 the Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation and The Centre for Public Impact, a Boston Consulting Group foundation, will host The Future of Cities: Connecting Innovation, Equity, and Empowerment, an invitation-only, half-day convening on accelerating mission-driven innovation in cities.  At this convening, we will delve deeper into key findings from a  just-released handbook on the future of cities, and hear from city leaders themselves how they are using mission-driven innovation to achieve impact in their cities.

Watch the live stream here, beginning at 9:00am ET on Tuesday, April 9, 2019:

Agenda:

8:30am:  Registration and networking breakfast

9:00am:  Welcome 

Featuring:

• Jennifer Bradley: Executive Director, Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation
• Dan Porterfield: President and CEO, The Aspen Institute

9:15am  Handbook presentation

“The Future of U.S. Cities: How cities are innovating with intention to drive impact,” a new handbook from The Centre for Public Impact in partnership with the Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation and Boston Consulting Group, highlights the stories of city problem solvers from across the country and shares what lessons we can learn from them.

Featuring:

• Rich Davey: Associate Director, State and Local Practice Lead, Boston Consulting Group
• Josh Sorin: City Innovation Programme Leader, The Centre for Public Impact

10:00am:  Gallery walk

10:30am:   Mission-driven innovation: Going beyond the pilot

Cities have the power and responsibility to not only be the incubators of technological innovation, but also drivers of social progress and stewards of public values.  Innovation, by definition, is an accelerant.  But how can innovation be used to achieve cities’ goals and achieve impact at scale?  As cities recognize the limitations of pilots, how can they operationalize a culture of experimentation that will allow them to learn and continuously improve their city?

Featuring:

• Beth Blauer: Executive Director, Center for Government Excellence, Johns Hopkins University
• Andrew Buss: Deputy Chief Information Officer/Innovation Management, Office of Innovation and Technology, City of Philadelphia, PA
• Sascha Haselmayer: CEO, Citymart
• Kiran Jain: Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Neighborly
• Dan Vogel: Director, North America, The Centre for Public Impact (moderator)

11:10am:  Intentional innovation: Prioritizing equity and legitimacy to drive impact

Cities’ innovation strategies will have to address longstanding inequities in service delivery and access to opportunity.  How are cities building equity and legitimacy into their systems?  Especially given the experimental nature of innovation, how can city governments work with partners, particularly those from underserved communities, in ways that foster trust and build legitimacy?

Featuring:

• Matthew Klein: Executive Director, Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity), and Senior Advisor, Service Innovation, Mayor’s Office of Operations, City of New York, NY
• Sly Majid: Chief Service Officer, City of Austin, TX
• Shireen Santosham: Chief Innovation Officer, San Jose Mayor’s Office of Technology & Innovation
• Noah Siegel: Interim Deputy Director, Portland Bureau of Transportation
• Jennifer Bradley: Executive Director, Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation (moderator)

11:50am:  Closing remarks

• Jennifer Bradley: Executive Director, Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation
• Dan Vogel: Director, North America, The Centre for Public Impact