Creating a Open, Searchable MetroLab Project Library

Stefania Di Mauro-Nava, Kathleen Burns

Funding Area: Capacity building / Construcción de capacidad

Problem Statement: Simply put, how can we get one good project from one community to another? How can we take a successful idea addressing affordable housing in Little Rock, and bring it to Spokane? At any given time, there are a number of projects taking place in communities all across the US that are trying to address critical challenges they are facing, from climate change to resource allocation. MetroLab’s ecosystem was created to make a national laboratory of local ideas. This effort would catalyze innovation and bring it to scale. The goal of the MetroLab Project Library is to host project information, including the “why,” the “how,” and the impacts derived for national civic innovation projects that feature local governments, universities and community partners and make them easily searchable for communities who may want to replicate or expand on their work. For background, MetroLab is an ecosystem of researchers and innovative local government leaders who want to work collaboratively. We have worked with 109 local governments and 99 universities. MetroLab manages programs to discover, implement, and scale innovative solutions and new thinking. We collaborate with local communities at a scale that then informs national policy. We also empower meaningful partnerships, making civic research actionable, and bring capacity (of all types) to cities and counties. Receiving funding for this project library would help provide a national resource of good ideas for the taking.

Proposed Activities: The proposed activities would take place within a 6-month period. Two staff members from MetroLab would reach out to our current members to solicit at least one example of a project that they have successfully implemented within their community. We would then work on formatting the content while a web developer would work to create a searchable database within the MetroLab website to host the platform. Once the content gets approval from submitted organizations, MetroLab would feature impactful projects on a digital platform, where everyone, across the US and worldwide, would be able to freely browse the projects and reach out to relevant experts to see if the solution could be applied locally. A brief outline can be found below. Timeline considerations Input from members: 60 business days; Writing time: 4 hours per post x 50 posts = 200 hours ; Approval from teams: 15 business days; Final edits and go-live:15 business days; Total: 6 months; Proposed start date: December 1, 2023; Proposed go-live date: June 30, 2024

Openness: The MetroLab Project Library would be fully open and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Access to our website is not restricted to members only, and in fact, all of our work is publicly available for viewing.

Challenges: There are three main challenges with carrying this out, but we firmly believe with proper management these obstacles are minor. Challenge 1: Not receiving enough input for projects to publish in the library Solution 1: MetroLab has an existing cohort of members and affiliates that we can reach out to for the initial projects that would be featured on the platform. All of these organizations have an interest in sharing their successes so we don’t anticipate lack of participation. Challenge 2: Not having a robust search capability on the platform Solution 2: Hiring a web developer who can help us properly tag and format the content of the website should mitigate this problem Challenge 3: Longer-term, fundraising to maintain and add additional projects to the platform so that it remains robust and relevant. Solution 3: We hope that overcoming the initial obstacle of setting up the platform, which is primarily the financial burden of getting it set up, would then mitigate sustainability challenges as the initial burden would set up steps in place so that staff can maintain and add content.

Neglectedness: To the best of our knowledge, there is no other source of funding for this type of work. Traditional funding sources like to fund specific programs or projects with outputs that are tied to the initial program. What we are suggesting is to create a platform of searchable projects that can be piloted and scaled in other locations, and MetroLab would serve as the curator and manager of the platform.

Success: Success for us is two-fold: 1. Creating a project library that is robust, open and searchable 2. Disseminating this resource very broadly to ensure that as many people as possible know about it and can refer to it on a continuously basis

Total Budget: $24,962.85

Affiliations: MetroLab Network, Inc.

LMIE Carveout: No, our project would take place wholly in the United States of America although individuals in other countries would be able to access the content and apply it locally as desired.

Team Skills: Kate Garman Burns, Executive Director, has worked with local governments and universities on innovative projects since 2014. She served as the co-lead for the US Department of Transportation Smart City grant for the City of Kansas City, Missouri, a top seven finalist. Kate brings both policy and project execution expertise, including writing regulations for both transportation network companies and for short term rental properties in two major cities, as well as coordinating the execution of the Innovation Advisory Council while serving as Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Technology Policy Advisor at the City of Seattle, Washington. Stefania Di Mauro-Nava, Director of Development, is focused on curating and implementing federal, philanthropic and corporate development efforts for the organization. Additionally, Stefania works on creating, maintaining and evolving partnerships for the organization. Prior to this role, Stefania served in a number of other capacities at MetroLab, helping to deploy programs, creating communications content and implementing MetroLab’s Data Science and Human Services. Stefania is a certified project management professional (PMP) and holds a M.A. in Science and Technology Policy from George Washington University and a B.A. in International Studies from American University.

Submission Number: 35