January 1, 2016

Happy New Year! As we kick off 2016, we return to one of our core themes at ExCITe. In this ExCITeCast, we've heard from leaders of Civic Innovation efforts around the country. Many were participants in the recent RISE Conference on Civic Innovation and the Future of Cities, organized by our friends at Technical.ly Media, and we salute the team at Technical.ly for their efforts in bringing such a great program to Philadelphia.

Two years ago at the ExCITe Center, we established a co-op student position for civic innovation, created in partnership with the Digital OnRamps project. The role exemplifies how we approach things: this student works in a highly multidisciplinary environment, incorporating many different areas spanning new technology, communications, design, education, and social media to further innovative civic engagement efforts. The podcast you're listening to is one example of our efforts to tell these stories, and is produced by our current civic innovation co-op, Madeline Demas.

I believe that one of the most distinctive qualities of the City of Philadelphia is it's commitment to civic innovation, in all forms. From the city's pioneering Open Data initiatives to the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics, which has spearheaded social entrepreneurship efforts in the city. And the Office of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy, re-established in 2008, explicitly links the value of creative activities to the growth and vitality of the city. All of these efforts have laid a foundation encompassing the broad and diverse range of partners necessary to fuel innovation.

This month marks the start of a new mayor's tenure in our city, and I hope the new administration continues Philadelphia's strong commitment to civic innovation. For it will require true partnership between local government, academic, corporate, and non-profit institutions, and new creative entrepreneurial efforts, to continue to build this culture of innovation that serves the entire community. And I know the ExCITe Center and Drexel University have much to contribute to the future of Philadelphia.

Youngmoo Kim, Director