Innovation is helping to:
Improve service delivery
Improve resident outcomes
Anticipate and manage future challenges
Critical success factors:
Dedicated funding
Focus on measurement
Dedicated innovation team
Culture of innovation in city
Oakland
United States
Mayor
Libby Schaaf
Population
425,195 (2017)
Innovation Website
Lead Innovation Officer
Daniel Hamilton
Spotlight on innovation in Oakland
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, Oakland does not have an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to 24% of cities surveyed, Oakland approaches innovation capacity in specific policy areas/domains.
Policy areas that Oakland is focused on
Policy areas by number of cities
Innovation skills or roles
Oakland does not have a dedicated team for innovation. Innovation work is largely being driven via the City's Resilience Strategy, focusing on housing, open data access and open governance, and preparation/adaptation for disasters such as wildfire, earthquake, and climate change.
Innovation roles by number of cities
Terms Oakland most associates with innovation
Oakland'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
Its innovation activities also include taking risks and testing new ideas; promoting data-driven analytics; and rethinking the city’s approach to financing and partnerships.
How is innovation funded here?
Like 81% of cities surveyed, Oakland 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
Oakland also invests in digital systems as well as paying for services to a third party.
How is innovation measured?
Oakland 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 academia, think tanks, and philanthropy to collect and analyze data, as well as with other cities.