What makes a community flourish? It’s a subjective question, and the answer depends on what each community needs. But even weighing the many variables from city to city, a few universal themes emerged at the NationSwell Summit Roadmap to the Future, a recent gathering of civic leaders who had assembled to share proven solutions. These tactical … Continued
The San Francisco Ethics Commission was established to provide education and enforcement of ethics, campaign finance, and lobbying laws. FUSE Fellow Gayathri Thaikkendiyil was tasked with developing a plan to redesign and modernize the commission’s website and e-filing project, with the ultimate goal of increasing public engagement and government accountability. She brought together key stakeholders such as … Continued
Niles Friedman worked with the State of California to establish an Office of Innovation for the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS). That included creating a staffing model and a plan from the ground up, and most importantly, building an innovation movement among the complex web of 12 departments and three offices within CHHS. … Continued
What does it take to drive innovative solutions in local government? It all comes down to people skills. That, and a vision for the long game. That was the conclusion of the panel entitled “The Challenges and Opportunities of Driving Innovative Change” at the Meeting of the Minds conference in Cleveland last week, moderated by FUSE CEO … Continued
Our FUSE 2017-18 class of fellows have embarked upon their fellowships with healthy doses of excitement, humility, inspiration, and optimism. These experienced leaders are tackling some of the biggest challenges facing our communities today — homelessness, affordable housing, minimum wages, anti-recidivism, criminal justice reform, job training, economic development, healthcare, eldercare, public education, police reform, racial … Continued
When Irene Hsieh started her fellowship in Fresno, one of her mandates was to spark a startup movement in what’s historically been known as the agricultural heart of California through public-private funding partnerships. Hsieh’s extensive background in many different aspects of finance and deep understanding of the startup landscape provided a critical advantage going in. But the true … Continued
Wendy McCulley was clear-eyed about her goal when she started her FUSE fellowship: to give students in Fresno as many options as possible after graduating from high school. “My personal goal is to positively affect as many students as possible by helping to reveal to themselves their own voice, their options, and potential for growth,” … Continued
Sharon Meron is working with the City of Long Beach to create a new, integrated approach to combat homelessness. Here’s what she’s learned about getting stakeholder buy-in when you’ve got new ideas to introduce. Engage the Team to Build Momentum Sometimes it’s a challenge to get people involved in a project when you’re new. To get … Continued
A FUSE fellowship lasts one year. In that time, our executive fellows tackle enormous challenges in cities across the country: addressing a homelessness crisis; getting more students from school to college; integrating autonomous vehicles into city infrastructure; responding to the opioid epidemic; taking action on climate change. So how does a one-year fellowship provide enough … Continued