Bloomberg Offers $1 Million Annually for 'Innovation Delivery Teams'

Recently, Bloomberg Philanthropies unveiled a three-year commitment to provide "eligible cities up to $1 million annually to support the creation of 'innovation delivery teams' that will use data-driven, results-oriented approaches to solve vexing urban problems."

Already more than 80 cities have been invited to participate. To apply for the grant, eligible cities need a populace of 100,000+, and mayors must have at least two more years in office. Similar to Bloomberg's approach on Wall Street, "the program emphasizes not only data-driven problem-solving and measurable results, but also turning to outside experts and peer cities for support."

The first round of cities included Atlanta, Chicago, Louisville, Memphis, and New Orleans, which quantitatively reported success in their programs, "including reducing retail vacancies in Memphis, reducing the number of annual emergency room visits in Louisville, cutting licensing time for new restaurants in Chicago, reducing homelessness in Atlanta, and reducing the murder rate in New Orleans."