Fellowship Field Notes: Philadelphia's First 90 Days

Walking into the room on day one of our kickoff event, I was nervous and kept checking my phone as it pinged insistently every minute. Did my team need help with any more setup? Letting folks into the building? After weeks of preparation, we were finally here.  

AI generates both excitement and stress for local governments, who are looking to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology. In my new role as a Service Innovation Fellow, through the Responsive Cities Network hosted by Data-Smart City Solutions at the Bloomberg Center for Cities a Harvard University and funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, I am part of an interdisciplinary team of people who are responsible for charting a course through these uncertain waters at the city of Philadelphia. To ground our work, we organized a kickoff event last month in conjunction with Data-Smart City Solutions, focused on how we can leverage AI to improve resident services and build trust in local government. 
 
The event marked a significant milestone in the city's efforts to responsibly explore how data, innovation, and emerging technologies, including AI, can improve services and deliver results for residents and businesses. Over the course of two days, we collaborated with over 70 participants across 20 city departments and 10 external organizations, including local universities and civic tech partners. I came away energized from the discussions and am proud to be part of a city that is continuously improving service delivery for our residents. Since that event, I’ve been thinking about a few important takeaways that are informing my work as I go forward.  
 
The first is that innovation happens at the speed of trust.  
On the first day, participants spend time in breakout groups that were structured around our three core values: Workforce and Training Needs, Equity and Community, and Technical Capacity and Infrastructure. Trust emerged as the resounding theme across all three. Whether we are engaging with our residents or our city's workforce, participants emphasized the need for accountability, transparency, and human-centered design.  
 
The second is that we have to define the problem first.  
On the second day, we gathered in City Hall to focus on priority use cases where technology and AI can create real value for residents, rather than using technology for technology’s sake. City departments presented ideas for how new tools could improve government responsiveness, streamline access to services, and optimize limited resources. One early use case we’re exploring is addressing illegal dumping by using AI to improve reporting, debris classification, and response. This is one of the top priorities reported by residents through our 311 app and is one of Philadelphia’s most known and visible problems, especially in neighborhoods with high numbers of vacant lots. Through a user journey exercise, we uncovered current pain points and identified parts of the process that can be modernized to improve the resident experience. 
 
Although the two days were a whirlwind, I was struck by how city workers across all departments, from analysts to supervisors through senior leadership, were eager to engage in open discussion about their hopes and fears around integrating technology and AI to address citywide problems. Being able to mix in external organizations and the additional expertise they brought was also invaluable. I also appreciated how willing external organizations were to come in and engage with the city on this work. Their expertise is going to be critical as we continue strengthening our partnerships and hosting additional forums for people to stay informed and engaged. 

That first day, as attendees gathered for our kickoff event, I was struck by the fact that this was the first time we had city departments, leadership, and external partners all in one room. As the event progressed, I could see the siloes between departments beginning to fall, and conversations sparked more easily.  

I’m looking forward to continuing this work and am excited to continue building on the momentum of our kickoff with some important next steps: 

• Engage residents to prioritize quality of life issues and identify opportunities where technology can improve service delivery 
• Understand opportunities and concerns across the city's workforce  
• Continue workshopping early use cases with city departments