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Posts tagged with racial equity and social justice Archives - City Innovation Hub

Recipes for Procurement Excellence: Check Out the Seattle Procurement Cookbook!

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 ]

Open Door Policy: How networking events and “warm handoffs” help Seattle recruit and retain WMBE vendors

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 ]

Panels as Pathways: How ARTS Turns Grant Review into an Art Form

Cast and crew of Tagalog sa King Street, 2019. Left to right: Ai Lalo, Leah Mitts, Lorna Velasco, Arlo Magpoc, Nina de Torres Ignacio, Pia Rivera, Andrea Castillo, and Manny Golez. Photo courtesy Velasco Arts. If you squint at the bottom of a playbill or art exhibit description at a… [ Keep reading ]

On Ramps: How the Seattle Department of Transportation Shook Up Business as Usual in Public Engagement Contracts

Seattle is the recipient of a $1 million Bloomberg Procurement Transformation Grant, a partnership between the Department of Finance and Administrative Services and the Mayor’s Innovation and Performance Team, with technical assistance from the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab. The project aims to transform City procurement to be more… [ Keep reading ]

Data to Action: How Seattle’s P-Patch Program is Growing with Equity

Aishwarya Nair and a fellow gardener identify plants at the Jackson Park P-Patch. Read more about Aishwarya. Walking though Seattle streets, you are bound to pass a Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch community garden, a lush plot of land dedicated to vegetables, herbs, and flowers. P-Patches are so iconic in Seattle… [ Keep reading ]

No Drill Sergeant Required: How Public Art Boot Camp Helps Early Career Artists Get in Shape

Seattle is the recipient of a $1 million Bloomberg Procurement Transformation Grant, a partnership between the Department of Finance and Administrative Services and the Mayor’s Innovation and Performance Team, with technical assistance from the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab. The project aims to transform City procurement to be more… [ Keep reading ]

Audit Your Way to the Top: How Seattle IT Maximized WMBE Spending

Seattle is the recipient of a $1 million Bloomberg Procurement Transformation Grant, a partnership between the Department of Finance and Administrative Services and the Mayor’s Innovation and Performance Team, with technical assistance from the Harvard Government Performance Lab. As part of our goal of elevating procurement as a strategic function… [ Keep reading ]

Performance Spotlight: Equity Enhancements Promote College Success for Seattle Promise Scholars Impacted by COVID-19

About Seattle Promise: Seattle Promise is a voter-approved Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy-funded college success program provided in partnership by the Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL), Seattle Colleges, and Seattle Public Schools. The program offers Seattle public school graduates two years (or 90 credits) of free… [ Keep reading ]

Seattle works to reform City buying to drive equity for minority-owned businesses

The City of Seattle spends a significant portion of its overall budget—about $900 million annually—on purchasing goods and services. While Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) account for nearly 38 percent of the city’s residential population, BIPOC-owned businesses earn only 14 percent of the City’s purchasing and contracting spend. This is why Seattle… [ Keep reading ]

City of Seattle’s Digital Equity Grants provide more than connectivity

The City of Seattle released a new report reviewing the impact of several years of Technology Matching Fund grants, based on four years of narrative reports from community partners. Findings suggest that Technology Matching Fund programs are making a real difference in closing the digital divide for Seattle residents. The… [ Keep reading ]