The Californer - City of Long Beach Launches Next Chapter of Long Beach Collaboratory Community Technology Program

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Above: Community members gathered to provide feedback on City technology services during a community workshop hosted by the City's Technology and Innovation Department.

Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach Technology and Innovation Department (TID) has announced the next cohort of its Long Beach Collaboratory (LB Co-Lab) program, a community-driven civic technology program that pairs community members with City staff to co-design and implement solutions that address community challenges. LB Co-Lab serves to uplift Long Beach community members to participate directly in the co-design process and will lead to more effective, accessible City solutions that address real neighborhood needs.

"Our City team is committed to investing in positive improvements for Long Beach residents by exploring technology solutions that improve City operations and the lives of community members," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "By harnessing technology and collaborative processes, we can work together to develop improved tools and methods that will shape the future of neighborhoods in Long Beach."

The second iteration of LB Co-Lab will draw on the success of the program's first cohort and introduce new strategies and structures to maximize impact and deliver even more significant benefits within Long Beach communities. In effort to enhance internal support for LB Co-Lab solutions, the City will implement a more robust community challenge discovery process where City staff will help to identify these challenges and collaborate closely with the community to address them. TID will review each identified challenge for potential positive impact and alignment with community priorities and poll the greater Long Beach community for direct feedback. TID will then recruit community members to serve asInnovators in Residence. These paid roles will work alongside City staff to co-design a technology pilot solution that addresses these final challenges, as well as ensure the projects meet the needs of the community.

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Now through Feb. 28, 2025, residents of all backgrounds interested in becoming an Innovator in Residence are encouraged to apply here; there are no language or educational requirements, and language assistance measures will be provided for participants as needed. Selections will be made based on each applicant's commitment to the community and their capacity to contribute actively to the design and implementation of innovative solutions for the identified challenges. Participants will be compensated $4,000 in installments over the course of their 24-month commitment to the program.

For this second cohort, LB Co-Lab solutions will support the City's readiness and community building efforts for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, fostering city pride and enhancing local participation in the Games. Through LB Co-Lab, the City is not only preparing for the LA28 Games, but also investing in the long-term wellbeing and strength of its residents and ensuring that the city's future is shaped by those who call it home.

The second cohort of LB Co-Lab is anticipated to start in March 2025 following the identification of community challenges and Innovator in Residence recruitment. TID will provide the selected challenges with funding for a 12-month implementation of selected pilot solutions, provided program participants commit to co-designing and implementing the project.

First launched in 2023, the first LB Co-Lab cohort brought together 27 community residents from the Willmore, West Long Beach, Ramona Park, and Hamilton neighborhoods to design and implement technology pilot solutions in nearby public spaces. Three pilot solutions have launched at various locations across the city, with the fourth project currently in the implementation phase.

The LB Co-Lab and pilot projects are part of the Long Beach Smart City Initiative. Established in 2021 with principles that guide the use of data and technology to improve the lives of Long Beach residents, the initiative's guiding values are equity, inclusion, resilience and community collaboration. The LB Co-Lab is funded by the City's new Innovation Fund within the General Services Fund Group, and a grant by the Long Beach Community Foundation's Knight Foundation donor-advised fund.

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"Our Smart City Initiative team is dedicated to working in close partnership with residents to integrate community voices into the design and implementation of civic technologies," said Technology and Innovation Department Director Lea Eriksen. "By fostering ongoing dialogue with community members and City staff, the program aims to identify neighborhood challenges and co-create solutions that are the most meaningful, and impactful to Long Beach."

To learn more about LB Co-Lab, visit the program webpage. The Smart City Initiative webpage provides more information about the initiative, including guiding principles, pilot programs, and exciting new projects. To stay informed about the progress of our Data Privacy Policy, Digital Rights Platform, or other smart city efforts, sign up for this newsletter.

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000 people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture, and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. To learn more about Technology and Innovation, visit: longbeach.gov/ti.

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