Louisville Metro Government Recognized As High-Performing City In Equipt To Innovate Survey

Louisville Metro Government has earned a top ranking in the third annual Equipt to Innovate survey, a Living Cities and Governing magazine collaboration that recognizes cities for exceptional performance and innovation.

The high-performing cities were  formally recognized this week 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.

Louisville Metro earned top honors in the Broadly Partnered category.

“From Day 1 of this administration, we’ve focused on continually improving the services Louisville residents rely on through purposefully finding efficiencies and breakthrough innovations,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “Our Office for Performance Improvement & Innovation has been at the forefront of this work, and this award shows why they’re among the best in the business of municipal performance improvement.

 “I’m especially pleased that Equipt to Innovate is recognizing our efforts to involve a broad base of community partners to help get residents what they need. Now more than ever, that work is essential.”

Louisville Metro Government has been ranked in the survey’s top 10 cities for the last three years.

Carmen Moreno-Rivera, the city’s Chief of Performance Improvement, added: “The Office for Performance Improvement & Innovation works diligently to help our colleagues and partners develop the best practices and innovations we need to provide the best possible services to our community. Our team is honored that this work continues to receive national recognition.”

Equipt to Innovate 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.

Sixty-six cities participated in the 2019 survey, bringing the three-year total to 144 cities.

In recognizing Louisville Metro Government, Equipt noted that the city develops relationships and partnerships with regional institutions, counties, school districts and neighborhood groups to improve the lives of city residents. Among the work cited:

• The Office of Performance Improvement and Innovation develops templates, processes and best practices to advance the Mayor’s strategic plan goals, and shares them widely with various partners, including the Louisville Metro Housing Authority, the city’s utility companies and school systems, and area nonprofits.
• In the area of criminal justice, KentuckianaWorks developed the “Reimage” program to focus on diversion, felony prevention and violence reduction for 16- to 24-year-olds who have been involved with the justice systems.
• The city’s Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods is implementing Louisville’s Cure Violence Program, which is intended to help stop the spread of violence by using strategies associated with disease control — detecting and interrupting conflicts, identifying and treating the highest-risk individuals and changing social norms. The office works with nonprofits, the school system, a local hospital and other Louisville Metro government offices to establish the program in local communities.
• In 2018, Evolve502, a coalition of community, government and education organizations, was launched to better deliver the services all families and children need to succeed and thrive, and to create a scholarship for every JCPS graduate to help make a two-year college degree affordable and achievable.

As part of its Equipt to Innovate honors, top-ranking cities were identified in each of the core elements:

1. Dynamically Planned – Dallas, TX
2. Broadly Partnered – Louisville, KY
3. Resident-Involved – Baltimore, MD
4. Race-Informed – San Diego, CA
5. Smartly Resourced – San Antonio, TX
6. Employee-Engaged – El Paso, TX
7. Data-Driven – Grand Rapids, MI