Long Beach\u2019s Technology and Innovation Department will host a Community Demo Day on Saturday, Nov. 15, during which community members can directly participate in helping select proposed innovative solutions to neighborhood challenges.<\/p>\n
The free event is part of the second cohort of the city\u2019s Long Beach Collaboratory<\/a> (LB Co-Lab) program, according to a press release. This community-driven event, the city said, represents the culmination of months of collaborative work between staffers and neighborhood \u201cInnovators-in-Residence\u201d to identify and solve three pressing Long Beach challenges: improving access to city services, increasing safety in commercial corridors, and maintaining and activating vacant lots.<\/p>\n \u201cDemo Day exemplifies the city\u2019s commitment to putting residents at the center of municipal innovation,\u201d Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. \u201cBy empowering community members to shape technology procurement decisions directly, we\u2019re building a new model of democratic governance that will set an example of how local government can build trust and drive positive change through community collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n Community Demo Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pointe Conference Center at Cal State Long Beach, 1250 N. Bellflower Blvd.<\/p>\n Attendees will have opportunities to participate in interactive presentations, demonstrations and question-and-answer sessions to learn about the proposed solutions and provide direct feedback, which will be used to inform the selection of one awarded project per challenge. The three awarded projects will each receive $75,000 for a 12-month pilot program, according to a press release.<\/p>\n Long Beach community members will also experience firsthand how community-driven innovation addresses pressing municipal challenges and leads to more effective city solutions,\u00a0officials said, as well as how this process builds trust between residents and local government.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Demo Day event represents a fundamental shift in how cities procure technology,\u201d Lea Eriksen, director of the Technology and Innovation Department, said in a statement. \u201cWhen we trust residents to help shape the solutions that affect their daily lives, we get better outcomes and stronger communities. Demo Day represents the future of municipal innovation \u2013 collaborative, transparent and driven by the people we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n For the second cohort of the program, all pilot programs will align directly with the city\u2019s 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games strategic areas, including sustainability, public safety and community pride \u2014 showcasing the city\u2019s innovative approach to resident-driven governance.<\/p>\n After a competitive \u201crequest for proposals\u201d process, the city received 57 solution ideas, according to the press release. Proposals were scored based on qualifications, feasibility of implementation, community impact, originality and understanding of the civic challenge.<\/p>\n The nine finalists and their proposed projects<\/a> were announced on Tuesday, Nov. 11 \u2014 with three Long Beach businesses among them. These finalists will present their proposed solutions at Community Demo Day.<\/p>\n \u201cThe LB Co-Lab demonstrates how powerful it can be when residents, entrepreneurs and city staff come together to co-create solutions,\u201d Eriksen said. \u201cBy combining community insight with technology and innovation, we\u2019re building a more connected, inclusive and resilient Long Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n The LB Co-Lab program builds on the success of its first cohort, launched in 2023, which brought together 27 community residents to design technology-based solutions in public spaces across four neighborhoods, the press release said.<\/p>\n The program is part of the Long Beach Smart City Initiative<\/a>, established in 2021 with guiding principles of equity, inclusion, resilience and community collaboration. The program is funded by the city\u2019s Innovation Fund and a grant from the Long Beach Community Foundation\u2019s Knight Foundation donor-advised fund.<\/p>\n