Korea
Park Nam-chun
3,021,000 (2019)
Choi Gi-Gun
Improve service delivery
Simplify administrative procedures for firms and residents
Improve internal government operations
Dedicated innovation team
Culture of innovation in city
Leadership from Mayor
Building on the idea that citizens should play a more active role in policymaking, Incheon has expanded its scope of civic participation through the Incheon Metropolitan Participatory Budget System. The city has organized and implemented a budget process that is directly managed by the local residents’ council. Incheon also makes a concerted effort to provide accurate data and information that helps inform citizens’ decisions. This policy innovation enhances the transparency and accountability of local government, while also enabling the administration to be more responsive to the needs of residents.
Along with 50% of cities surveyed, Incheon has an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to more than half of cities surveyed, Incheon approaches innovation capacity both from a holistic/macro level, as well as in specific policy areas.
As an independent department, Incheon’s dedicated innovation team consists of 10 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, Incheon has dedicated funding to support innovation capacity.
Similar to 61% of participating cities in the 2020 survey, Incheon'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.
Incheon has developed partnerships to promote innovation capacity with other public agencies and city residents/resident associations.
To improve data use, the city has also developed data partnerships with academia and think tanks to collect and analyse data.