This month, Seattle’s Innovation & Performance Team convened an incredible group of technologists, students, nonprofits, and startups at the AI House on Seattle’s waterfront. At this event—the first in the new Community Innovation Hackathon Series—we challenged local innovators to leverage AI to help us connect teens with the programs and… [ Keep reading ]
What happens when young people are directly involved in building solutions for themselves and their peers? This summer, we had the privilege of finding out by hosting two Seattle Youth Employment Program interns to support our Youth Connector initiative. Research shows that being involved in sports, clubs, internships, and other… [ Keep reading ]
From cutting application times by 80% to an ad campaign that quadrupled website visits, Seattle is making great strides to transform how residents apply for benefits and discounts. At the heart of this effort is CiviForm, a one-stop-shop portal makes applying for multiple benefit programs simpler, faster, and more accessible… [ Keep reading ]
This year, Innovation & Performance is working with partners at the City of Seattle, youth and trusted adults, parents, and mental health experts in the community to re-imagine how young people connect with resources. Whether it’s mental health counseling, recreation activities, job training, or other programs, the Youth Connector initiative… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle’s work in data-driven innovation is making headlines. Two recent news stories spotlight the City’s efforts to deliver real solutions and improved services for residents, with partnership from the Seattle Innovation & Performance Team. Driving Change with Data and Digital Tools Innovation & Performance Director Leah Tivoli recently appeared on… [ Keep reading ]
On March 4, 2025, Seattle took an important step to address displacement by launching the Anti-Displacement Work Group, a product of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s Executive Order on Strengthening Anti-Displacement Strategies. The Work Group unites key department leaders and policymakers across the City to develop targeted solutions that will help residents… [ Keep reading ]
How do I contract with the City of Seattle? Until August 12, 2024, there was no simple answer to that seemingly simple question. Different departments had different procurement systems for the three main buckets of contracts: public works, consulting, and purchase of goods and services. Those bids were in turn… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle is an increasingly multicultural and multilingual city. More than 150 languages or dialects are spoken by students and their families in Seattle Public Schools. This incredible linguistic diversity presents a logistical challenge for the City government to communicate with all of its residents about everything from notifications on upcoming… [ Keep reading ]
Winning a government contract can be a game-changer for local small businesses. But confusing and inefficient processes can keep new firms, as well as small and BIPOC-owned firms, from being successful as City contractors. These inefficiencies also take up valuable staff time and resources. This is why Seattle participated in… [ Keep reading ]
Many of the City of Seattle’s parks, playgrounds, pools, comfort stations and community centers were built before Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Ever since, local governments around the country have been chipping away at a backlog of renovations to add ramps, widen doorways and install elevators… [ Keep reading ]
