United States
Victoria Woodards
213,418 (2013)
Benjamin Thurgood
Improve internal government operations
Improve service delivery
Simplify administrative procedures for firms and residents
Focus on measurement
Dedicated innovation team
Leadership from Mayor
Culture of innovation in city
Human resource support
Tacoma’s innovation efforts aim to help departments identify problems and implement solutions while developing citywide capacity for problem solving and continuous improvement. Focusing on improving internal and external service delivery, continuous improvement uses data, process improvement frameworks, training, and other tools to maximize the value provided to both customers and the public.
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, Tacoma has an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to more than half of cities surveyed, Tacoma approaches innovation capacity both from a holistic/macro level, as well as in specific policy areas.
Tacoma’s innovation work is sprinkled throughout the municipality. There are 4 staff for innovation team as well as 1 Organizational Development staff mainly dedicated to innovation at HR department. In addition, at the Office of Budget, there are staff dedicated to performance measures and open data while the Media and Communication Department has a strategic plan manager. In this way, the city’s approach to innovation is largely decentralized with a few staff located in a variety of 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
Its innovation activities also include taking risks and testing new ideas, and promoting data-driven analytics.
Like 81% of cities surveyed, Tacoma has dedicated funding to support innovation capacity.
Tacoma also invests in digital systems and physical infrastructure as well as hosting a variety of workshops using design thinking, lean, user experience design, and strategic foresight.
Tacoma 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 and think tanks to collect and analyze data, as well as with other cities.