United States
Brandon Whipple
385,000
Michael Barnett
Improve internal government operations
Improve service delivery
Save costs and improve efficiency within the public sector
Dedicated funding
Focus on measurement
Culture of innovation in city
Leadership from Mayor
Wichita established an innovation fund in 2019 to support the implementation of pilot projects. The city hopes these projects will generate savings that can be reinvested into the fund, helping establish a sustainable system of innovation that can bring efficiencies to government and improved service delivery to citizens. The city has partnered with Wichita State University to define, organize, and structure its data management, while also building data expertise within the community.
Along with 50% of cities surveyed, Wichita, KS has an explicit innovation strategy. Similar to 20% of cities surveyed, Wichita, KS approaches innovation capacity from a holistic/macro level.
Wichita, KS does not prioritise policy sectors for its innovation work.
Wichita’s innovation work is sprinkled throughout the municipal administration. The administration believes that every municipal staff member should be involved in enhancing the city’s innovation capacity.
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 81% of cities surveyed, Wichita, KS has dedicated funding to support innovation capacity.
*"Training staff and building capacity" is not an option in the 2018 survey, while "Launching or sustaining a project" is not an option in the 2020 survey.
Wichita has developed partnerships to promote 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, private philanthropy, academia and think tanks to collect and analyze data.