15.07.13
US local government innovation scheme inspired by Nesta
A scheme based in New York aimed at reducing the literacy gap between rich and poor children has taken its inspiration from the Creative Councils project in the UK.
The Mayors Challenge, set up and funded by New York city mayor Michael Bloomberg's foundation Bloomberg Philanthropies, encourages local authorities across the US to submit ideas for local innovation to a competition, with the winners getting funding to implement their ideas.
The original UK competition by Nesta asked councils to come up with innovative ways to improve their local areas.
Nesta has been working with Bloomberg Philanthropies to adapt Creative Councils to meet the needs of US cities. Philip Colligan, executive director of Nesta's innovation lab, was quoted in the Guardian as saying: “They've adapted it for their context. Before people applied, they got everyone who wanted to apply to return an RSVP slip saying they wanted to be involved, and they then orchestrated mass conference calls to try and raise people's level of ambition. That was smart, because one of the things you really want to do in an ideas competition like that is to engage people early on to improve the quality of their ideas.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]