United States
Jim Strickland
652,717 (2016)
Justin Entzminger
Improve service delivery
Improve resident outcomes
Anticipate and manage future challenges
Save costs and improve efficiency within the public sector
Dedicated funding
Focus on measurement
Dedicated innovation team
Leadership from Mayor
Culture of innovation in city
Memphis works with the FedEx Institute of Technology to run an Innovation Bootcamp on civic challenges. Employees from the biggest private employers (FedEx, Autozone, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital) in Memphis work together on priority projects for a three-day sprint to accelerate the innovation process and give new ideas for prototyping.
Innovate Memphis developed the Memphis Property Hub with a local blight-focused non-profit to provide layers of property survey data and datasets from multiple agencies. Its data is updated continuously and gives a picture into blight and the condition of the built environment throughout the city.
Note: The City Innovation Snapshot (PDF version) was produced in 2019 and some aggregate findings have been updated with the latest survey results below.
Along with 50% of cities surveyed, Memphis does not have an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to more than half of cities surveyed, Memphis approaches innovation capacity both from a holistic/macro level, as well as in specific policy areas.
Memphis does not have a dedicated team for innovation, but the city has hired external consultants to work on the topic.
The City of Memphis funds an external organization, Innovate Memphis, with 8-10 full-time and part-time staff. Three of them are solely dedicated to City innovation projects. The team also works with other public agencies, such as the transit authority and health department.
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
Its innovation activities also include data-driven analytics; taking risks or testing new ideas; and facilitating organizational change within the municipal administration.
Like 81% of cities surveyed, Memphis has dedicated funding to support innovation capacity.
Memphis also invests in digital systems and hosts expert workshops.
Memphis has developed partnerships to promote its innovation capacity with other public agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and city residents/resident associations.
To improve data use, the city has also developed data partnerships with academia, think tanks, and private philanthropy to collect and analyze data, as well as with other cities.