New Urban Mechanics of Boston and Philadelphia

New Urban Mechanics (NUM) is a multi-city civic innovation incubator and R&D network dedicated to improving the lives of city residents. NUM serves two key functions: 1. to serve as a front-door for civic innovators (both inside and outside of government) that are trying to connect with local government to deliver innovative solutions to local challenges, and 2. works as a risk aggregator by creating a safe-place for government officials and their community collaborators to experiment. Each of the cities in the New Urban Mechanics Network develops a pipeline of projects that address issues relevant to their city. In Boston the focus has ben on civic engagement, while in Philadelphia the focus has been on supporting civic entrepreneurs.