Innovation is helping to:
Generate new sources of revenue
Improve service delivery
Improve internal government operations
Critical success factors:
Dedicated funding
Focus on measurement
Dedicated innovation team
Culture of innovation in city
Kansas City
United States
Mayor
David Alvey
Population
165,288 (2017)
Innovation Website
Lead Innovation Officer
Alan Howze
Spotlight on innovation in Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas collaborated with a local start-up, PayIt LLC, to develop a "myWyco" mobile payments app that also serves as a mobile 3-1-1 reporting tool for potholes, code violations, and more. The city also added state services, such as vehicle renewals, becoming one of the first in the nation to combine state and local services into one convenient, intuitive experience. Since launching in the fall of 2017, myWyco has increased online payments by over 35% and online revenue by 80%, while reducing labor and transaction costs. Over 75% of Americans own smartphones, and Kansas City is committed to offering simple and intuitive mobile experiences.
Note: The City Innovation Snapshot (PDF version) was produced in 2019 and some aggregate findings have been updated with the latest survey results below.
Vision and approach to innovation capacity
Along with 50% of cities surveyed, Kansas City has an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to more than half of cities surveyed, Kansas City approaches innovation capacity both from a holistic/macro level, as well as in specific policy areas.
Policy areas that Kansas City is focused on
Policy areas by number of cities
Kansas City utilizes 3 different innovation skills or roles
Innovation roles by number of cities
As an independent body, Kansas City’s dedicated team for innovation is led by the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO). The CKO manages a staff of 50. Among them, 8 staff are working for a performance and innovation team.
Terms Kansas City most associates with innovation
Kansas City's most common innovation activities
- 1
Taking risks or testing new ideas
- 2
Data-driven analytics/public data management
- 3
Engaging residents in new ways
- 4
Developing new solutions based on digital technologies
- 5
Organizational change within the municipality
- 6
Human-centered design
- 7
Rethinking your city’s approach to financing partnerships
How is innovation funded here?
Like 81% of cities surveyed, Kansas City has dedicated funding to support innovation capacity.
Top sources of funding
Activities being funded
47 cities
Launching or sustaining a project
79 cities
Idea generation & brainstorming
51 cities
Investing in digital systems
36 cities
Investing in physical infrastructure
30 cities
Paying for services
Kansas City also invests in digital systems and physical infrastructure as well as paying for services to a third party.
How is innovation measured?
Kansas City has developed partnerships to promote its innovation capacity with other public agencies, private firms, not-for-profit organizations, and city residents/resident associations.
To improve data use, the city has also developed data partnerships with the private sector, academia, think tanks, and private philanthropy to collect and analyze data, as well as with other cities.