PHL Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics

07/16/2014

Good profile on New Urban Mechanics and Philly Parks and Rec partnered to test the civic crowdfunding waters.
http://crossroads.newsworks.org/index.php/keystone-crossroads/item/70429-civic-crowdfunding-

You ve likely heard about crowdfunding on web platforms like Kickstarter It s where people submit an idea and anyone can sign up to help fund it But crowdfunding isn t just a tool for raising money

06/03/2014

Accelerating Urban Innovation through entrepreneurship and collaboration Entrepreneurial innovation has a vital role to play in tackling today’s toughest urban challenges. The launch of FastFWD unlocks unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs to collaborate with cities to source, cultivate, an…

05/22/2014

Pics from our FastFWD entrepreneur pitch event at First Round Capital last week!

With Good Company Ventures - Public Safety Innovation Accelerator presents its inaugural cohort and their proposals to tackle the $152bn public safety market.

05/21/2014

The Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics is going, and so should you!

Urban Geek Drinks, is a monthly happy hour for a diverse group of civic do-gooders in Philadelphia. It’s an opportunity for you to connect with other people who give a damn and are working incredibly hard to make Philadelphia a really great city. Organized by Aaron Ogle of Open Plans and Alex Gillia…

04/09/2014

Great article by our friends at Code for America. Appreciate the reference to FastFWD! Let's work together on this!!!

Procurement policies were written decades ago when technology looked vastly different than it does today. Procurement policies were drafted around the purchase of buses and street signs, not databases and websites....

04/08/2014

Our project, FastFWD, was nominated for a webby award. Proud to be party of a great collaboration with Wharton Social Impact Initiative and GoodCompany Group, and a huge thanks to Here's My Chance for the amazing design work!

Please vote for us!

Vote with me! – April 8th–24th.

03/18/2014

Urban ventures accelerator Tumml is now accepting applications from entrepreneurs looking to solve urban problems! They give $20K in funding + mentorship to startups looking to solve urban problems

Tumml is an urban ventures accelerator with the mission of empowering entrepreneurs to solve urban problems. Through a four-month program, Tumml invites early stage companies into its office space to receive: • $20K in seed funding; • Mentorship from civic and government leaders like the Chief Innov...

03/11/2014

Awesome lineup for the April PhillyTechWeek edition of OpenAccessPHL

Our speakers: Mayor Michael A. Nutter (invited) Donna Harris - angel investor and the co-founder of 1776 Darlene Cavalier - founder of SciStarter & Science Cheerleader Desiree Peterkin Bell - Director of Communications & Strategic Partnerships and City Representative for the City of Philadelphia Joh...

03/06/2014

Priorities & Accomplishments from the last 6 years from City of Philadelphia Government and Mayor Michael Nutter

02/26/2014

"The City of Philadelphia has a new vision for procurement: a channel through which the city hopes its toughest, most intractable challenges meet fresh, out-of-the-box ideas from entrepreneurs, businesses, non-profits, and other organizations."

As one of the winners of the 2012-2013 Mayors Challenge, the City of Philadelphia received a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to implement their winning idea, FastFWD. The FastFWD project will enable the city to engage entrepreneurs in solving big public problems while reforming the un...

02/25/2014

Public Design Talk with on 3/12

Design research methods and tools have the power to capture a great deal of qualitative and quantitative data about your users, customers, stakeholders, market sector, and the broader context of your product or service. With all of this rich data, though, how do you make sense of what it is telling…

02/22/2014

These 10 startups plan to tackle public safety problems in Philadelphia. Meet FastFWD's first accelerator class!

FastFWD, a public-private business accelerator designed to stimulate civic innovation, is pleased to announce its first class of entrepreneurs. Selected from more 80 applications, these 10 startups are focusing on solutions to urban public safety challenges, and will undergo a rigorous three-month p...