(BLOOMINGTON) – The City of Bloomington is one of three government entities participating in the second annual Flipping Finance Challenge, presented by the Indiana Bond Bank.
Taking place February 28 and 29 in Indianapolis, Flipping Finance Challenge 2020: Snowday is a collaborative innovation summit addressing challenges presented by each of the three units of government participating from around the state.
Along with Jay County and Starke County, the City of Bloomington has prepared a set of challenges to present to a group with diverse skills and subject matter expertise, who will collaborate and compete during the 18-hour design charrette to propose solutions.
Bloomington’s participation in the event is led by the City’s Office of Innovation, whose mission is to improve current processes, prepare the organization for the future, and nurture a culture of innovation. Generated by department heads and staff, the seven challenges the City will offer up for crowdsourcing include the following:
- collecting fall leaves more efficiently and effectively
- incorporating City values throughout the organization
- building out alternative transportation options
- incentivizing rental property owners to make their properties more energy efficient
- growing an occasional worker program for people experiencing homelessness
- closing the economic and physical gaps preventing affordable, good quality childcare
- addressing the downtown’s particular needs during busy night and weekend hours with regard to sanitation, parking enforcement, and public works.
“The City is participating in Flipping Finance to match some of our thorniest challenges with a state-wide brain trust,” said City of Bloomington Innovation Director Devta Kidd. “Knowing that some of the issues we’re encountering have cropped up elsewhere, we are looking to this group of tech and data specialists, entrepreneurs, and folks with decades of municipal experience to help us brainstorm.”
There is no charge to the City to participate in the event, which serves to generate solutions to the challenges presented, not fund them. After attending the event, Kidd will bring all of the solutions proposed for Bloomington’s set of challenges back to the City to share with department heads for consideration.
More information about events led by the City of Bloomington Office of Innovation and innovation success stories across City departments is available here.
About the Indiana Bond Bank
The Indiana Bond Bank is a quasi-governmental agency established by the Indiana General Assembly in 1984. The Bond Bank is a self-funded entity and does not receive any appropriations from the State of Indiana. The primary mission of the Bond Bank is to assist local units of government in the process of issuing debt. The Bond Bank serves Indiana cities, towns, townships, public school corporations, counties, public libraries, county hospitals, and public universities.
