Strategies for Local Governments to build a better govtech ecosystem
Local Government Strategies

Local Government Strategies

Government Support and Resources

  • Funding Partnerships

    Funding partnerships can help cover any costs associated with proof-of-concept projects, innovation programs, and underrepresented entrepreneurial programs. There are many foundations focused on impact, public service, and entrepreneurship. In addition, some impact-funds, and even the state and federal government, through the EDA may be opportunities to get matching funds for new economic development projects. Some of these may already have relationships with other ecosystem partners.

Internal Government Innovation

  • Government Staff Exchanges

    Government staff exchanges between accelerators or other entrepreneurial ecosystem partners can be a complex program to successfully set up, but can have very strong rewards in terms of building understanding and relationships across local government and the entrepreneurial sector.

    • High-impact, High-difficulty
    • Example: FedTech (Could be done in a way more focused on inclusivity)
    • Next Steps: This is a challenging program, but one that could start small and short-term (even just a week-long exchange) before expanding it.
  • Internal Innovation

    An internal innovation department or innovation teams within departments can build processes, lead external innovation partnerships, facilitate cross-department internal challenge identification, and build expertise across government departments in technology and innovation.

More Inclusive Procurement

  • Public-facing Challenge Creation

    Public-facing challenge creation is a type of challenge-based procurement model that leverages the life-experience, expertise, and crowd-sourcing benefits of engaging the public directly in identifying and defining the challenges local governments seek to address. As with challenge-based procurement, the idea is not to have residents define solutions, but to help specify all aspects of the problem and maybe even help evaluate potential solutions. While this process can be more time-consuming, it also has numerous benefits that can make sure that solutions have a much greater likelihood of impact and success. This process can help ensure problems are properly identified and understood by government officials before going out for proof of concept projects or fuller procurement. They also can help ensure a smooth rollout and implementation of any new technology solutions by getting buy-in from the public and community groups early.

    • High-impact, High-difficulty
    • Example: NYC Office of the Public Advocate’s For the People Innovation Program (in progress)
    • Next Steps: Scope out a plan to engage community groups and residents in facilitated process to start identifying and defining challenges technology can help address. Reach out to local civic hacker groups or design-thinking organizations like Code for America brigades for some help in designing the program.
  • Govtech Education for Government Leaders

    Govtech education for government leaders can facilitate more informed purchasers of technology solutions, as well as informing these decision-makers about the needs of underrepresented entrepreneurs and the barriers they encounter. Finally, education on how to run proof-of-concept programs and implement challenge-based procurement models for technology solutions can help accelerate the adoption of these new, more entrepreneurial methods.

    • Medium-impact, Medium-difficulty
    • Example: CityInnovate’s STIR Labs
    • Next Steps: Governments can reach out to organizations like CityInnovate, Urban-X, and CivStart for help in getting case studies from other local governments as well as educational resources and curriculum.
  • “Front Door” for local businesses

    An accessible “front door” for local businesses can help local governments ensure they are getting a wide range of responses to their RFI/RFPs, making these more competitive, fulfilling diverse contracting requirements more fully, and helping grow small and startup businesses who are providing innovative products and services to local governments and their residents. This should have resources for small businesses, as well as engaged, influential, and informed individuals who can facilitate these onramps and help answer questions.

    • High-impact, Medium-difficulty
    • Example: Kansas City, MO \\ Cleveland, OH
    • Next Steps: Internally, governments can assemble their resources into a single location. Solutions like SourceLink and Qwally can help governments create the simple technology workflows for this front-door.
  • Inclusive contractor practices

    Inclusive contractor practices and sub-contractor policies already exist in numerous state and local governments and can be a strong foundation to expand on. Governments can also relax or remove restrictive rules around hiring and contracting with formerly-incarcerated people, as these rules disproportionately impact Black and brown entrepreneurs.

  • Proof-of-concepts

    Proof-of-concept projects, especially those that are paid, and have ambitions to scale toward larger contracts, can be important first steps in the door for underrepresented entrepreneurs and new businesses who may not understand or have the resources to navigate the traditional RFP procurement process. RFIs can also help assess a market interest toward RFPs, but add a time-delay to get toward a solution. Of course, not every function is eligible for a trial solution, especially core government services, but there are many aspects of government service-provision and internal operations where small pilots can result in big impact for governments. These may turn into contracts, but they can also be useful for businesses to learn and adapt their products to better meet government needs.

    • High-impact, Medium-difficulty
    • Example: Washington, DC’s Smart Cities Initiative \\ City Innovate’s list of successful proof-of-concept projects executed through their STIR program
    • Next Steps: Identify some broad areas (especially within services or technology) that can be good first trials of a proof-of-concept approach. Then issue a challenge publicly. Organizations like CivStart and UrbanLeap can help ensure that these programs run successfully and many of the most innovative startups see your challenge.

Government Support and Resources

  • Govtech-focused Startup Competitions

    Govtech-focused startup competitions can introduce new entrepreneurs to a field of business and community-impact that they would not have otherwise considered. Aspiring entrepreneurs at business-schools are rarely taught about the possibilities of government as a customer, and many may be inspired to look for opportunities in this field where they can start a business and give back to the community.

    • High-impact, Medium-difficulty
    • Example: Urban Resilience Challenge
    • Next Steps: Reach out to local startup competitions and business programs about providing an educational session with government leaders on the opportunities in this market. Local investors may be willing to cover the cost of prize money.
  • Open Data Portals and APIs

    Open data portals and APIs allow transparency, accountability, and community-based solutions to emerge. By moving the local government to open and accessible data, local community technologists and businesses can identify challenges and opportunities facing the local government and experiment with solutions that those inside the government might never have considered.

  • Access to Capital

    Facilitating access to capital is something local governments can accomplish in a number of ways. One possibility is to set up small business funds with regional local governments, local chambers of commerce, and other ecosystem partners. These can provide bridge funding during downturns and to support other priorities, like underrepresented entrepreneurs. State-guaranteed convertible debt allows a local government to take convertible interest in the success of a project, rather than typical startup funding models that take equity and dilute ownership for underrepresented entrepreneurs in their companies. It also reduces the risk to the local government. Especially during the hard times for businesses represented by the COVID pandemic, governments may consider experimenting with this new idea.

    • High-impact, High-difficulty
    • Example: Buffalo, NY’s 43 North \\ The One Buncombe Fund brings together numerous regional local governments and other partners to form a centralized COVID-19 donation and relief center that provides bridge funding to small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis \\ The Brookings Institute has identified how a grant program to support Minority Entrepreneurs could help close the racial entrepreneurship gap \\ Products like WeFunder can help focus local investments in local entrepreneurs
    • Next Steps: The first place to start is identify what funding challenges the entrepreneurial community is facing. Work with local chambers of commerce, accelerators, and others to identify needs and build a plan.
  • Creating an Entrepreneurial Hub

    Creating an entrepreneurial hub is an important way that local government can leverage their central role in the govtech space to bring all parties together. This can take the form of technical exchanges and entrepreneurial showcases, educational events for entrepreneurs hosted by the local government or other ecosystem partners, simple networking events between government leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors, reverse-pitch opportunities and more.

  • Business Training and Support in Underserved Communities

    Focusing business training and support in underserved communities can make sure that local governments are getting the most out of their existing programs. Partnering with local community organizations, finding out the needs of entrepreneurs in these communities, and setting explicit targets for underrepresented participation in these programs can ensure that existing work is having real results. One example members of the Task Force shared was a local government encountering many women and minority entrepreneurs unprepared to fill out loan paperwork, which can lead to a catch-22 for local governments that require past performance metrics.