The 2018 U.S. Mayors Challenge, sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies, is a nationwide competition that encourages city leaders to uncover bold, inventive ideas that confront the toughest problems cities face.
The time is now!
U.S. mayors face bigger challenges than ever before. Innovation is no longer optional; it’s necessary so cities can continue to deliver results and improve life for residents.
The 2018 Mayors Challenge is designed with this urgency in mind. The competition returned to the U.S. as one of the first investments in the Bloomberg American Cities Initiative, an effort to help U.S. cities generate innovation and advance policy.
Did the mayor visit your home? Here’s mayor @lizlemp personally giving out Welcome Baskets to our new participants in the Curbside Organic Program! Let’s make Princeton a composting community. Happy composting! #MayorsChallenge @BloombergDotOrg #princetoncomposts
TEAMSWIFT18 ■ Team SWIFT
The @TownofCary team is hard at work on our Mayors Challenge final application.@BloombergDotOrg #opioidcrisis #MayorsChallenge
NRAIMUNDO ■ Nicole Raimundo
On the home stretch @CityofDurhamNC #MayorsChallenge
BERTHAJOHNSON20 ■ Berta Johnson
This past Friday, Grow Detroit’s Young Talent hosted a behavioral health training for 1,000+ students, making it the only youth workforce program in the country to incorporate behavioral health in such a pronounced way. #mayorschallenge #detroit
ABOUCHAKRA ■ Sirene
35 Champion Cities Submit Final Applications!
35 cities completed a 6-month testing phase, where they conducted public prototypes of their ideas. Click here to learn more about what they tested. These cities will submit final Mayors Challenge applications on August 20, 2018.
Participating cities will:
Solve An Urgent Problem
The Mayors Challenge has been designed to help hundreds of cities develop ideas that solve the most urgent problems facing cities today. Innovation experts will visit each of the first 300 cities that sign up for the Challenge to deliver one-day city hall training workshops to accelerate idea development by drawing upon the expertise of the community.
Join Bloomberg's Cities Network
All entrants will receive expert guidance to develop their ideas and joined Bloomberg’s cities network, which identifies, elevates, and promotes innovations that work across cities.
Win Millions
of Dollars
35 Champion Cities will win up to $100,000 to test their ideas and build local support. The five cities with the best ideas will receive millions to implement their ideas at scale.