How innovation teams earn (or lose) their seat at the table
In cities across the world, many innovation teams have become indispensable problem solvers, while others—even, in some cases, the ones that launched with the biggest fanfare—have quietly faded. Here, Juan Felipe López Egaña, who helped build the first national-level public innovation lab in Latin America, explains why some innovation units break through and others get marginalized. Specifically, he argues that positioning, or where a team sits inside the structure of power, often matters more than talent, methodology, and budget in determining their long-term impact for residents.
The leadership approach that can help mayors tackle complexity
Mayoral leadership matters now more than ever given the seemingly relentless uncertainty and pressure facing cities. Here, Christian Bason of Transition Collective argues that, in addition to exercising traditional executive authority, mayors need to take new and bolder steps to unite actors inside and outside city hall around shared goals. Ultimately, he believes, that requires a mindset shift where mayors approach their cities less as machines to manage and more as one part of a larger network they can steer toward lasting change.
