Miami-Dade innovation model expands across US cities

A public innovation programme developed in Miami-Dade County is expanding to other US cities following a US$3 million investment from the Knight Foundation, with plans to establish a network that helps local governments test new technologies and turn successful pilots into permanent services.

The Miami-Dade Innovation Authority (MDIA) will introduce its Public Innovation Challenge model in Akron, Ohio, and Macon, Georgia, with further cities to be announced. The programme connects government departments with start-ups and technology companies to develop and test solutions to specific public service problems.

Leigh-Ann Buchanan, President and CEO of MDIA, told Cities Today that the ambition extends beyond individual technology trials.

“What’s missing is the scaffolding that lets external solutions repeatedly plug into municipal infrastructure. That’s why public innovation authorities support municipalities beyond a single pilot or administration. They are intended to be a permanent fixture and resource to municipal leaders.”

The initial expansion will include cities within the Knight Foundation’s network of 26 US communities, where the Knight brothers once owned newspapers. While the foundation also funds national initiatives, its place-based investments have traditionally focused on these communities, with a stronger presence in eight cities, including Akron, Macon and Miami. MDIA is seeking additional philanthropic partners, although it remains unclear whether the programme will eventually expand beyond Knight’s existing network.

Building a national network

The investment will fund shared infrastructure, technical assistance and evaluation tools, allowing participating cities to establish local programmes without developing their own systems from scratch. Akron is expected to launch its first challenge in late 2026.

Each municipality will contribute staff time and matching resources to support pilots, while MDIA will provide project management, procurement templates, data tools and access to its network of expertise. The organisation will assess each city’s readiness before launching challenges, examining leadership support, innovation culture, existing processes and access to data.

“We scale challenge size and scope to the local budget and operate within each city’s existing procurement rules,” Buchanan said. “The Knight investment enables us to fund the shared infrastructure, so early cities don’t each build it from scratch.”

The model is designed around three components: standardised testing and procurement processes, a broader pipeline of potential suppliers, and coordination between departments working on related problems. Buchanan described this as a “civic operating system”, intended to help governments integrate new solutions into existing operations.

Results from Miami-Dade

Since launching in 2023, MDIA has run eight Public Innovation Challenges, reducing the time between solicitation and pilot launch by as much as 67 percent, from a typical 18–24 months to as little as seven months. The challenges have attracted an average of more than 70 applications, compared with five to 15 for conventional government tenders.

At Miami International Airport, an AI-powered wayfinding pilot recorded more than 4,000 passenger interactions in 90 days, with an estimated potential to increase concession revenues by US$175,000. A separate recycling education pilot could potentially save several million dollars annually if deployed countywide, although those savings remain projections.

Buchanan said the transition from successful trials to permanent contracts remains a challenge, particularly when companies must compete in a second procurement process.

“In most jurisdictions, a company that wins an open challenge and proves its value in a pilot must then compete in a second, traditional solicitation to earn a contract,” she said. “Cities often create work-arounds that fail to address the root cause.”

Measuring long-term impact

MDIA intends to evaluate the expansion through financial and operational results, including revenue generated, staff capacity, time saved and reductions in costs. The organisation will publish case studies and impact data from Miami-Dade and its first expansion cities on a rolling basis.

“MDIA launched in 2023, so it is still early to assess our truly long-term effects,” Buchanan explained. “[But] we can see in the near-term how quickly we are able to drive improvements.”

The organisation is preparing its first independent, third-party impact assessment for 2027, which will provide a further test of whether the model can deliver sustained improvements across different municipalities.

She added: “Ultimately, the test of lasting improvement is whether pilots convert into procurement, and whether each city can run its next challenge faster than its first.”

Main image: Sean Pavone | Dreamstime.com