Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative has recently launched an interesting academic exercise of a virtual think tank at the Harvard Business Review website HBR.org on the topic of revitalizing cities.
The series of thought pieces serve as the appetizers for an upcoming multi-day conference feast at Harvard Law School on the same topic. Thursday, April 28-Saturday, April 30.
Globally, 2008 marked the first time that a majority of citizens would reside in cities. Locally, the most recent census data showed significant growth in many smaller cities in Massachusetts.
While large cities like Boston garner significant attention and resources as they adapt to population growth, the new growth in these smaller cities is more significant since they often have fewer resources to respond to the magnitude of the change.
For this reason, Pioneer has been working with 14 “middle cities” to help them make this transition by utilizing data to measure performance and make management decisions. You can see one aspect of this effort at masscitystats.org. Or check out some of our research on the issue. Here, here, or here.
April 21st, 2011
When it comes to the aspects of the Governor’s agenda that impact cities, the press has focused on two elements:
1) Cuts in local aid in the budget and,
2) The push to lower the union threshold in order to allow, or perhaps force, municipalities into the state’s Group Insurance Commission.
While those certainly are newsworthy, there are two smaller intiatives that move the Commonwealth in the right direction on two fronts:
A) local performance management and
B) regionalization.
Pioneer has been a vocal advocate for the state to be more aggressive in promoting these policy goals.
Our Middle Cities Initiative has worked with 14 municipalities to improve data collection, to drive accountability and transparency– in order that local officials and the public alike can make more informed decisions about resource allocation. Lean more here.
While Pioneer’s research has called for a more organized and coordinated state strategy to facilitate change at the local level– the “$300,000 for the development of a program to enhance performance management, accountability, and transparency for local governments” is a move in the right directions.
Pioneer has partnered with the Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Harvard Kennedy School Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston to provide technical assistance to many municipalities in the state on this very issue. It is our hope that this project can reach the Administration’s goal of developing “a set of common accountability and performance measures that can be adopted by all municipalities… to determine how to provide the necessary support and tools to municipalities, support including education, training, standardized software and reporting, and technical assistance to municipalities to participate in the program.”
Finally, if funded, the $9.7 million Regionalization and Efficiency Incentive Grant Program could help push some local communities, in a limited resource environment, to finally move towards regionalizing services in their area.
See some of Pioneer’s research on this issue here.
Let’s hope that the Administration can help to realize their goal of incentivizing “innovation among local governments to find new and more efficient ways to delivery local services.”
It should go without saying that these programs are not the comprehensive solutions that are needed for cities’ problems, but at least show a small commitment from the Administration towards these policy ends.
January 28th, 2011
The Mayor of New Bedford– one of Pioneer’s Middle Cities– wrote an interesting op-ed that ran in the Boston Globe. He calls for a statewide task force to develop a new framework for public union contracts in the future.
He outlines the fiscal mess that many local communities face, and advocates for immediate action to re-imagine how local governments are run. I wrote an op-ed giving some suggestions from the state level a few weeks ago.
However, Mayor Lang’s strongest argument to support his call for action is that:
“We cannot have a strong state unless we have strong municipalities. It is imperative that we find systemic and equitable solutions that will allow our cities to strengthen public safety, revitalize their neighborhoods, and improve their schools.”
To learn more about Pioneer’s Middle Cities Initiative, click here.
December 22nd, 2010
