As we move into September and International Strategic Planning Month, we have an occasion to consider the work that is being done in our communities, and how the progress meshes with a local government’s long-term goals. In the spirit of the month, it is up to managers to consider how effectively communities are approaching their goals, and if there is anything they can do to accelerate the progress. 

The field of civic innovation is centered on answering the question: “What can we do differently to achieve more?” and here at ICMA, we want to help you answer that question for your local government. Here is a list of some of the best civic innovation resources from the Knowledge Network:

• In The 2050 City: What Civic Innovation Looks Like Today and Tomorrow, you can read about the modern environment of civic innovation, as well as an assessment of the relationship between civic innovation practices and continued advances in technology.
• In the Priority Based Budgeting as Civic InnovationPowerPoint presentation that Pete Peterson, director of the Davenport Institute, Pepperdine School of Public Policy, offered at the 2013 Center for Priority Based Budgeting Annual Conference, you can learn all about budgeting as a tool for innovation. Pete’s PowerPoint slides have meticulous notes that outline his speech at the conference in great detail.
• “Networked Cities Lead Innovation” is a blog post by Alissa Black, director, California Civic Innovation Project (CCIP), New America Foundation, that offers background on the release of CCIP’s white paper on building and strengthening local government networks as a means. CCIP’s white paper is called Creating Networked Cities.
• In the article Latest Front in the Battle against Wasteful Spending, Governing Research highlights the downside of absence mismanagement, including impacts on productivity, budget, and compliance. This article can save your local government time and money!
• Achieving the goals you set for your community can hinge on the interpersonal dynamics of your organization. In “The Lessons of Give and Take: Why Innovation is Ultimately about Giving,” you can learn how to change office dynamics so that your team can make the most out of its’ actions.
• You can also check out this awesome post from my fellow Knowledge Network team member Hilary Badger. In it she highlights even more resources on civic innovation that can be found across the Knowledge Network.

You can keep this conversation on innovation going over at the innovation, planning, citizen engagement or professional development topic pages, or you can do so below this post by sharing your thoughts on civic innovation. Hope to hear from you soon, and have a happy International Strategic Planning Month!

Aloha,

James Davidson

ICMA's Knowledge Network Intern

jdavidson@icma.org