Cranley Unveils Innovation Plan

Cincinnati mayoral candidate and ex-Councilman John Cranley today announced his two-part innovation plan, which he said would boost government transparency and help continue the nationally recognized momentum Cincinnati has recently gained as a tech startup hub.

The plan would take $5 million over four years from the capital budget and ask local startup incubators Cintrifuse, The Brandery and CincyTech where they would like to see the money going. As one example, Cranley said the money could help host an annual “hackathon” in which savvy innovators compete to create apps that could better connect residents and city services.

When asked specifically where the money would come from, Cranley said it would be part of the $30 million the city allocates each year to capital projects. Cranley also remarked that the city will have more capital funds if he dismantles the

streetcar project

, which he has

long opposed

.

Cranley’s innovation plan also calls for hiring a chief innovation officer (CIO) and creating “CincyData,” a transparency initiative that would gather and publish city data to create “a more efficient, effective and user-friendly City government.”

“This is about improving customer service for city services,” Cranley said.

The CIO and CincyData would also help find new ways to carry out city services in the hopes of running the local government more efficiently.

Cranley said he’s in preliminary talks with Cincinnati Bell to see what it would take and how much it would cost to establish CincyData.

As for the CIO, paying for the position’s salary would cost the city about $50,000 to $60,000 a year, according to Cranley. That’s about 0.01 to 0.02 percent of the city’s operating budget.

Cranley said he currently has no one in mind for the CIO position.

Cranley is running for mayor against fellow Democrat Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, who has publicly supported Cincinnati’s startup incubators during her time in City Council; Libertarian Jim Berns; and Independent Sandra “Queen” Noble.

Cincinnati recently gained national recognition for its tech boom in

Entrepreneur

and

CNBC

, with Entrepreneur calling the city “an unexpected hub for tech startups.”

City Council on Aug. 7 approved using $4.5 million to help move Cintrifuse, The Brandery and CincyTech to new Over-the-Rhine headquarters. Cintrifuse claims the new home will make it easier to attract and keep businesses in Cincinnati, especially since Over-the-Rhine is currently undergoing its own economic revitalization.

An

Aug. 14 study

from Engine and the Kauffman Foundation found high-tech startups add jobs more quickly than new businesses in other sectors, but the startups are also just as likely to fail as other businesses in the long term. The study also found that tech startups are more likely to cluster, so establishing a city or other location as a hub can help bring in more similar businesses.