Bloomberg Harvard Innovation Track

In July 2023, the Mayor and the City Manager attended the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative with city leaders from around the globe. The program aimed to provide research and resources for city leaders to expand problem-solving capacity, build effective city hall organizations, and improve outcomes for residents.

Following this, the City applied to participate in a competitive program offered through the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative and was accepted to participate in the Innovation Track. Through this program, an interdisciplinary team of City staff is building innovation capabilities as they work to address Safety, a priority concern for our community.

Problem the City is Tackling:
The City has heard from neighbors that feelings of public safety are declining. Neighbors attribute these feelings to visible increases in the number of unhoused individuals, neglected infrastructure, lack of visible police presence, and longer than expected police response times. This disconnect between resident expectations and the City's delivery of service erods trust and reduced the overall quality of life in Fort Lauderdale.

To date, the City has hosted three co-creation sessions:

• April 23, 2024: This session focused on gathering ideas from the community on how public safety could be improved in the City.
• May 28, 2024: This session focused on collecting feedback from the community in response to a select group of ideas that were generated from the April co-creation session.
• June 20, 2024: This session focused on collecting feedback from the community in response to two ideas that were further refined based on feedback from the May co-creation session.
  • Idea 1: Establish a co-responder model to address non-life-threatening calls for service.
  • Idea 2: Establsh a text notification system that allows neighbors to receive updates about their expected wait time and the responding officer.