Resources for City Leaders

Failing forward in local government

Failure is at the root of any successful innovation project, but local governments' ability to identify, learn from, and do something about failures are limited by budgeting and longstanding cultures of risk aversion. We know that cities will need to innovate if they are to meet the great challenges of our time -- this project aims to help them actually translate innovation to impact. 

The Centre for Public Impact and the Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation are working together to understand how local governments can fail forward and are supporting cities as they catalyze cultures of innovation. 

Local strategies to accelerate economic mobility

Many factors have contributed to stagnant and declining rates of economic mobility. But local governments can make a significant impact in improving lifetime outcomes for their residents. To help, our partners at Results for America have created the Economic Mobility Catalog. Designed elevate policies and programs proven to boost economic mobility, the Catalog helps cities accelerate change in their communities.

Staying engaged with a socially-distant community

This guide is designed to support cities that want to create and maintain strong, institutionalized practices of community engagement during periods of remote working in an increasingly digital world.

Cross-sector collaboration: lessons for city leaders

A playbook for local leaders looking to build or strengthen partnerships.

Examples of excellence in data and evidence

What does excellence look like in data and evidence? These case studies from the Centers of Civic Impact at Johns Hopkins University highlight great examples from real projects across a variety of types of work.

Innovation Defined: A Guide to Performance Alignment

No two governments are exactly alike, so aligning their performance management program is going to look different depending on where things stand in each organization. Use this step-by-step guide to link strategic priorities to measurable outcomes and the activities that drive progress along the way.