SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Governing recently announced the top-ranking cities from the third annual national Equipt to Innovate survey, which show a growing number of cities are investing in and building the many things that make communities good places for people to live.
Equipt to Innovate is a joint initiative launched by Living Cities and Governing magazine. It is an integrated, collaborative framework anchored in seven key characteristics of high-performance government — being dynamically planned, broadly partnered, resident-involved, race-informed, smartly resourced, employee-engaged and data-driven.
Equipt sets a purposefully high bar across all seven elements, and the third annual survey shows many cities are rising up to meet it. Sixty-six cities participated in the 2019 survey, bringing the three-year total to 144 cities.
“Mayors and city managers know that innovation is the key to high performance, but they also know they cannot simply demand that staff innovate,” says Mark Funkhouser, publisher of Governing. “The key is for cities to create conditions that spur innovation and that’s what our Equipt to Innovate survey measures. The results of this, the third annual Equipt to Innovate survey, show that cities are continuing to actively build their capacity to create vibrant communities of engaged residents.”
Based on the results of the third annual survey and analysis, San Diego, Calif., was named the top-performing city overall.
Top-ranking cities were also identified in each of the core elements:
- Dynamically Planned – Dallas, TX
- Broadly Partnered – Louisville, KY
- Resident-Involved – Baltimore, MD
- Race-Informed – San Diego, CA
- Smartly Resourced – San Antonio, TX
- Employee-Engaged – El Paso, TX
- Data-Driven – Grand Rapids, MI
The high-performing cities will be formally recognized today at the 2019 Summit on Government Performance & Innovation, an annual gathering of innovators, public sector change-agents, disrupters and civic entrepreneurs from around the country interested in making government work better for local communities.
For a comprehensive overview of the survey findings and a discussion of how cities fared across the categories, download the report “Profiles in High-Performance Government: Cities on the Move” at www.governing.com/equipt.
About Governing:
Governing covers politics, policy and management for state and local government leaders. Recognized as the most credible and authoritative voice in its field, Governing provides non-partisan news, insight and analysis on budget and finance; transportation and infrastructure; workforce and economic development; health and human services and more.
Governing is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government and education.
About Living Cities:
Living Cities harnesses the collective power of 18 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions to develop and scale new approaches for creating opportunities for low-income people and improving the cities where they live. Its investments, research, networks, and convenings catalyze fresh thinking and combine support for innovative, local approaches with real-time sharing of learning to accelerate adoption in more places. Additional information can be found at www.livingcities.org.
Media Contact:
Mark Funkhouser
mfunkhouser@erepublic.com
202.862.1438