Bloomberg Innovation Delivery Fellowship

Over half of the world’s population now lives in an urban area. Cities serve as hubs for invention, cultural exchange, education, and the arts, but also pose unique governance challenges. In 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a three-year, $24 million initiative to create Innovation Delivery Teams that worked to identify and support top policy goals for the mayors of Atlanta, Chicago, Louisville, Memphis and New Orleans. With policy efforts from scaling municipal efforts at energy efficiency to reducing gun violence, each team helped the mayors develop and deliver high-impact solutions to their city’s most pressing needs.

The Program

Between December 2011 and February 2014, NYU Wagner and RCLA served as knowledge partners in this three-year, $24-million initiative by documenting and translating key findings into resources to be used by other cities. As part of NYU Wagner’s commitment to building a talent pipeline for public service, RCLA also designed and managed the Bloomberg Innovation Delivery Fellowship. Through this fellowship, outstanding early-career professionals document each Innovation Delivery Team’s progress and gather data to help elevate best practices for cities across the nation, while preparing themselves for leadership careers in the public sector. This program:

• Identified powerful solutions, developed implementation plans, and effectively engaged key stakeholders to support the process.

• Identified the best practices and lessons as each team customized the model to meet local needs, with extensive technical assistance and support.

• Documented and gathered data of each team's progress, helping to elevate best practices for cities across the nation, while preparing themselves for leadership careers in the public sector.