United States
Michael Hancock
716,492 (2018)
Melissa Wiley
Save costs and improve efficiency within the public sector
Improve service delivery
Simplify administrative procedures for firms and residents
Dedicated funding
Focus on measurement
Dedicated innovation team
Culture of innovation in city
Leadership from Mayor
Created in 2012, Denver’s Peak Academy system of training public sector employees in how to imagine and execute change has been embraced across the United States. As an early adopter of systems that reframe how local government can interact with and serve constituents, Denver has produced numerous breakthrough projects that improve service delivery while creating a return on investment. Its Peak Academy training system has helped the city institutionalize a culture of innovation.
Along with 50% of cities surveyed, Denver, CO has an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to more than half of cities surveyed, Denver, CO approaches innovation capacity both from a holistic/macro level, as well as in specific policy areas.
See more examples of the city's initiatives such as building more traffic signals, reducing time to certify a small business, reducing license wait time and time at the Motor Vehicle Division.
Situated within the Finance Department, Denver’s dedicated innovation team consists of 8 staff.
Taking risks or testing new ideas
Data-driven analytics/public data management
Engaging residents in new ways
Developing new solutions based on digital technologies
Organizational change within the municipality
Human-centered design
Rethinking your city’s approach to financing partnerships
Like 81% of cities surveyed, Denver, CO has dedicated funding to support innovation capacity.
Similar to 61% of participating cities in the 2020 survey, Denver's funding for innovation capacity is also directed towards training staff and building capacity*.
*"Training staff and building capacity" is not an option in the 2018 survey, while "Launching or sustaining a project" is not an option in the 2020 survey.
Denver has not yet developed partnerships to promote innovation capacity or improve data use with other entities outside the city administration.