Cities Today Institute launches collaborative programme to address urban challenges

The Cities Today Institute has launched a new programme to enable cities to collaborate on shared challenges to find solutions faster.

The City Innovators’ Hub will support multi-city open innovation projects and pilots, tailored smart city training, and peer-to-peer learning through exclusive video case studies and a library of policy and strategy documents. Cities will also be able to share ideas, questions and updates year-round via the online community platform.

The Hub builds on the CTI’s City Leadership Forum events which have been bringing digitalisation and mobility leaders together since 2015.

Bob Bennett, Chair of the CTI and former Chief Innovation Officer for Kansas City, Missouri, said: “These Forums are places to listen, share and collaborate. 25 meetings in and we are not slowing down, but we understand that it is not enough. Innovation takes place constantly, it’s dynamic and it’s ever-changing.”

He added: “Each city is unique, but many of their challenges are not – the climate crisis, pandemic recovery, the growing cyber threat, and changing skills needs in city hall are issues that almost all our members face. The great thing about cities is they collaborate, rather than compete, and we want to offer a place to facilitate that important work.”

Future focus

Powered by community-building experts Zapnito and based on feedback from local government practitioners, the City Innovators’ Hub is open to city innovation leaders and their wider teams from around the world.

Oliver Hendry, Community and Membership Manager, Cities Today Institute, said: “This is only the beginning. The City Innovators’ Hub will play a central role in the next generation of Cities Today Institute activities including the development of a young innovators’ network, structured multi-city innovation challenges, and training materials to upskill the entire organisation.

“Most importantly, we welcome ideas from city members on developing the flexible platform further to meet their needs.”

Members will also gain priority registration to CTI training, workshops and City Leadership Forums.

Join now at no cost to connect and collaborate with city peers from around the world.