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“True economic resilience isn’t about
just weathering tough times or capitalizing on new technologies for
external investment - it’s about building community capacity.
Innovations that incentivize the kind of local pride that keeps dollars
local, turn community leaders into business leaders, and increase access
to information and communication are critical practices that help
communities find their own power. Sustainable cities use innovation to
steward this power, working bottom-up and cross-sector to channel
hyper-local strength into city-wide opportunity” - Russon-Gilman, McCann, and Bullen.
The following article may help you to gauge where your community ranks along a continuum of “same old, business as usual” approach at one end of the scale, to a “resilience-based, strategic, local first” innovation model at the opposite end.
Think Local First: 3 Innovation Strategies for City Economies by Hollie Russon-Gilman, Laurenellen McCann and Georgia Bullen, New American Foundation: Open Technology Institute, May 12, 2014
This post from OTI’s Civic Innovation Team is part of the Meeting of the Minds Blog Event, posing the question - How could cities better connect all their residents to economic opportunity?
Every day in our cities, we interact with layers of social, technical and political systems. At the Open Technology Institute
(OTI), we research, analyze, and experiment around the ways in which
people interact with these layers and how that impacts equitable access
to information, freedom to communicate, and economic and community
development.
One area of our work focuses on “Civic Innovation.” We
believe civic innovations aren’t necessarily new city apps, but rather
include processes and practices that re-imagine how cities can support
and engage residents.
As cities capitalize on these emerging
innovations - both born locally and from peers - they pioneer a new
frontier for sustainable community networks, social structures that have
huge implications for the trajectory, strength, and inclusivity of
economic growth.
Unlike the federal government, cities have
more flexibility to fail forward and iterate. At the same time, cities
also increasingly play the role of direct service providers, a position
that comes with extra responsibility to ensure that economic
opportunities are equitable.
This tension, between risk and
responsibility, can be a healthy incubator for innovation - demanding
attention be paid to the entire local economic ecosystem and favoring
multi-sector and multi-stakeholder approaches.
Below, we’ve rounded up three examples of
economic innovation strategies wielded by municipalities and communities
that attempt to address this tension: Incentives, Engagement, and
Access.
Although no innovation is perfect, these examples are useful
inspiration for the kinds of community practices that integrate
government, constituent, and business contributions to build on local
strengths and create new economic futures.
Incentives: to bolster local business, encourage communities to think local first
When the question of economic stimulus
arises, too often municipal governments turn their attention to
entrepreneurs themselves, seeking either to attract new investment from
external businesses or to bolster seedling local enterprises through tax
incentives. What’s missing?
Incentives for locals to steward local economic growth.
In early 2014, coffee shops within Washington, DC introduced a “Disloyalty Card”
to incentivize customers to frequent locally-owned businesses, explore
different neighborhoods, and meet members of the local coffee community.
Similar cards are in use around the country, scaled to a particular
industry or wielded state-wide, with incentives ranging from a free cup of joe for customers to special partnerships with local Chambers of Commerce and discounted advertising deals for participating businesses.
Loyalty cards and their kin, Cash Mobs - “happenings” where dozens to hundreds of residents spend money at local establishments -
aren’t local economic cure-alls, but their thoughtful implementation
could do wonders for incentivizing the movement of people and dollars
within a community - and for encouraging local business to create jobs
and hire locally.
Imagine if a tax incentive program for women- and
minority-owned businesses came paired with a loyalty card to ground
these businesses as city staples and a Cash Mob, organized by a
public-/private-partnership, to welcome these organizations into the
community.
Community resilience starts with local pride.
Engagement: Generate community investment by tapping into local expertise
Governments can engage residents to be actively involved in collaborative governance.
For example Philly’s Ambassador program
taps into citizens’ energy. The program equips citizens with tools to
serve as “Ambassadors” to incentivize business into Philadelphia.
This
also serves as a business development leadership training that citizens
can effectively use in their daily lives. Residents, with local
expertise, can serve as critical connectors and translators.
This
program is an example of how city government can empower citizens with
skills, information, and resources to support and promote economic
development.
Citizens want to do meaningful work. Diverse platforms, not limited to only government, can provide critical venues and pathways for meaningful citizen engagement.
Access: Develop a healthy digital ecosystem by building shared community infrastructures
New digital systems for communication and
collaboration don’t always require large, up-front investments from
local governments.
Communities themselves can pool resources and build
local infrastructure to provide last mile access to the Internet - or
even just a neighborhood information platform.
In Red Hook, Brooklyn, a
community-based non-profit, the Red Hook Initiative runs a Digital Stewards program
for whom the main activity is to plan, build, and maintain a community
wireless network.
The wireless network serves multiple purposes for
different people. For young adults it is a job training program, funded
through workforce development funds from the New York City government.
For many residents, it provides open internet access. Local businesses
use it to participate as active community members and offer local deals.
On the local wireless network (before messages reach the internet),
there is an information hub
where residents can find out when the next bus is, upcoming community
events, jobs available at local businesses, and talk to each other about
resource and skill sharing.
By building technical infrastructure that matches the social infrastructure, communities can support themselves and develop healthy digital and community ecosystems.
These three strategies are but a few
examples of how cities can effectively wield community-centric
approaches to invigorate local economies.
True economic resilience isn’t
about just weathering tough times or capitalizing on new technologies
for external investment - it’s about building community capacity.
Innovations that incentivize the kind of local pride that keeps dollars
local, turn community leaders into business leaders, and increase access
to information and communication are critical practices that help
communities find their own power.
Sustainable cities use innovation to
steward this power, working bottom-up and cross-sector to channel
hyper-local strength into city-wide opportunity.
SEE ALSO
- How Could Cities Better Connect All Their Residents to Economic Opportunity? - Meeting of the Minds and Living Cities invite civic-minded leaders across sectors to participate in a group blogging event focused on the question: How could cities better connect all their residents to economic opportunity? Bloggers are asked to write their response to the prompt question and publish it today, May 12th. A list of dozens of participating bloggers, and links to their responses, is provided. The above post by Russon-Gilman, McCann, and Bullen is included in the list.
- ‘Buy Local’ Campaigns Produce Results February 18, 2014
- Building Local Economies February 27, 2014
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