Bloomberg, Johns Hopkins launch $43 million public innovation center

Johns Hopkins University has announced a $43 million commitment from Bloomberg Philanthropies to launch the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation.

The center will serve as a hub and resource center for government innovation with a focus on three areas: training city leaders and staff to develop, test, and scale new solutions to challenges such as housing, climate, and economic development; conducting research on the impact of those practices on creative problem solving by local governments; and engaging the next generation of public-sector innovators by connecting students with city hall internships.

The investment will fund fellowships for city hall staff to build a stronger evidence base for their work, create peer-learning initiatives for public innovation practitioners to share their knowledge, and strengthen networks among national and international organizations focused on public innovation. It also will establish three new Bloomberg Distinguished Professors for Johns Hopkins faculty whose research will contribute to emerging issues in urban policy and government innovation. The center will be led by executive director Amanda Daflos, who previously served as the City of Los Angeles's first chief innovation officer and established and directed the Los Angeles i-team.

"Johns Hopkins University is honored to collaborate with Bloomberg Philanthropies on this critical center devoted to advancing the field of public innovation," said Johns Hopkins University president Ron Daniels. "The Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation embodies our shared belief in the power of philanthropy to improve lives and demonstrates the critical role universities can play in providing today's most innovative civic leaders with the tools they need to marshal data, shape policy, and transform practice for the benefit of cities and citizens around the world."

Photo Credit: Baltimoresun.com
Source: PhilanthropyNewsDigest.Org

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