Item - 2019.GL5.22

The General Government and Licensing Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council receive the report (May 16, 2019) from the Director, Civic Innovation Office, and the Chief Information Officer for information.

This report provides an update on the Civic Innovation Office's three-year grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Innovation Team Program and an overview of the resident-centric priority project brought forward to the Civic Innovation Office and the solutions developed to address them.

Highlights of this report for information include:

-  Impact with residents through the Civic Innovation Office’s Priority Project; and

-  Impact on the work of City government by fostering a culture of innovation.

The Civic Innovation Office was designed to address traditional barriers to experimenting in city governments and to deliver change more effectively to the residents of Toronto. By using the most modern approaches to innovation - primarily adopted in the startup and tech sector - the Civic Innovation Office has reduced the risks associated with public-facing projects and provided City leadership with assurance in their ability to develop and implement effective solutions to high-priority problems.

In February 2018, the Civic Innovation Office began working on the team’s first priority project to help increase civic engagement with underrepresented people in the City's Neighbourhood Improvement Areas.