National League of Cities

Innovation Competitions | 2023

How might we evaluate long-term impacts of domestic and internationally recognized innovation competitions towards cities' resiliency?

Zhumabai Abdisalam uulu || Kyrgyzstan

Zhumabai Abdisalam uulu holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University and a master’s degree in politics and security from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE ) Academy in Bishkek. His main area of academic interest is political economy—he wrote both his bachelor’s and master’s theses on Kyrgyzstan’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, focusing on economic impact and perspectives.
Most recently, Zhumabai worked for the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development – Central Asia as a governance and policy officer for the Effective Governance for Economic Development program that was implemented in cooperation with the World Bank in the Kyrgyz Republic. He also has worked as a project assistant for UN Women, a program specialist for the democratic governance project at the Politico-Military Department of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, and at the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Zhumabai describes himself as an agent of change and is passionate about data-driven global development. As a master of global affairs student, Zhumabai is the recipient of a Riberas Orjales Family Fellowship.

Valena McEwen || Sierra Leone

Valena McEwen was a Mastercard Foundation Scholar, graduating magna cum laude from Ashesi University in Ghana with a BSc in business administration. Most recently, she managed projects for the Mayor’s Delivery Unit of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. She helped plan and implement the sustainable urban development project Transform Freetown Agenda, provided strategic communications support to the Transform Freetown interventions (funded by partners including World Bank, Catholic Relief Services, and Bloomberg Philanthropies), managed the city’s social media, and developed the annual Transform Freetown Reports.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Valena co-led the municipal government’s community engagement efforts. She was also part of a team that designed an investment concept for the city’s tree planting initiative, which was a winner of the 2021 Bloomberg Global Mayors Challenge. In December 2021, she served as co-lead organizer of TEDxMayorOfFreetown, which highlighted the climate action of Freetown residents. Valena is interested in city-level innovation that works towards inclusive and sustainable urbanization. She is also investigating how cities can expand participatory and sustainable human settlement planning and environmental management, particularly in settings of high informality or limited urban planning. As a master of global affairs student, she is the recipient of a Keough Family Fellowship.

Kyle Seasly || United States

Kyle Seasly was a Peace Corps volunteer in Cambodia from 2015-2018. He spent two of those years teaching English at a rural public secondary school in Pursat Province and one year at the Teacher Training Center in Stung Treng. During his time in Cambodia, Kyle also pursed various projects: his education project about the Khmer Rouge received a Let Girls Grant; he organized the international WriteOn! competition; and he organized a WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) project that involved the construction of new hygienic facilities at O Ta Pong Secondary School. Most recently, he was a social studies teacher at Ayeyarwaddy International School in Mandalay, Myanmar.
Kyle holds a BA in history from Whitman College, where he focused mostly on US foreign policy in the 20th century. As a master of global affairs student, Kyle is is the recipient of a Donald & Marilyn Keough Fellowship.

Overview

In the past twenty years, there has been an increase in the use of innovation competitions by local governments to address complex climate-related challenges. There exists a gap in research on the extent to which such competitions build local governments’ capacity. This project aims to understand if innovation competitions affect the ability of local governments to innovatively address climate-related challenges and identify specific mechanisms through which innovation competitions might do so. The findings of the National League of Cities (NLC, the i-Lab partner) team’s study will be used to develop a report on the success criteria of innovation competitions, which will be shared by the NLC with the governments of small to mid-sized American cities interested in building their own innovative capacities.

Key Research Question

How do local government innovation competitions build the government's ability to innovate?
What elements of these competitions are most effective at promoting innovation in government?
What are opportunities for improvement?

Research Goals:

Focus on previous winners of innovation challenges in the US and internationally and evaluate how their participation in these challenges impacts their work now.
Conduct a comparison of how innovation challenge programs compared to other models for building innovation, such as more traditional capacity building or certificate-based programs.
Inform the development of future innovation challenge initiatives and provide valuable insight to NLC member cities on how to approach building innovation.

Definition of Success

This project would produce a practical guide for cities on how to build sustainable innovative capacities within the context of innovation challenges. This will empower city leaders to better meet the challenges they are facing today and in the future. This project will also provide insights for administrators of innovation challenge programs to design and implement programs in a way that will maximize the impact for participants.

Required Team Skills

Interests/Background: Municipal policies and services
Skills/Methodologies: Quantitative and qualitative data analysis; program evaluation; comparative research skills; case study research
Language(s): Spanish may be needed for some Latin/South American locations
Characteristics: Strong interpersonal skills; appreciation for role of local governments in creating change; experience living/working in cities

Partner Liaisons

Lena Geraghty, Director, Sustainability and Innovation
Joshua Pine, Program Manager, City Innovation and Data

Possible Locations

USA and International (TBD)

Organization

The National League of Cities (NLC) Center for City Solutions provides research, education and analysis on key topics and trends that impact the people in America's communities. We help local leaders build strong communities by expanding their capacity, elevating successful city practices, providing in-depth research and tools, and finding and implementing on-the-ground solutions.