United States
Rusty Bailey
327,728 (2017)
Prasad Mahale
Save costs and improve efficiency within the public sector
Simplify administrative procedures for firms and residents
Improve service delivery
Improve internal government operations
Dedicated funding
Leadership from Mayor
Culture of innovation in city
The City of Riverside’s Innovation and Technology Department created a new Innovation division and city’s first Innovation Lab, in collaboration with the Office of Organizational Performance and Audit, to build internal and external capacity to drive innovation and change. The city plans to expand outreach to the local entrepreneurs, start-ups, academia, etc.
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, Riverside does not have an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to 20% of cities surveyed, Riverside approaches innovation capacity from a holistic/macro level.
Riverside has an innovation-related task group with delegates from different departments.
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 19% of cities surveyed, Riverside does not have dedicated funding to support innovation capacity.
Riverside has no reported sources of funding.
Riverside does not fund any specific activities.
Riverside has developed partnerships to promote its innovation capacity with other public agencies and not-for-profit organizations.
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.