The Board of Estimates today accepted a $4.2 million grant enhancement from Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropic arm, upping to $7 million the charity’s commitment to helping city government undertake innovative, data-driven research.

The research will focus on police recruitment and preventing vacant housing, described as “two of Baltimore’s most pressing problems” by Terrance Smith, the innovation team “I-team” chief.

“Baltimore is a favorite city of Bloomberg Philanthropies,” he told the board, “so there was the thought that we might bring more innovation back and reinvigorate the city.”

The grant was welcomed by City Administrator Faith Leach, who (taking the place of an absent Mayor Brandon Scott) praised Smith for his commitment to transparency and community engagement.

The fresh infusion of Bloomberg money will be used to hire eight data analysts in the Mayor’s Office of Innovation, whose purpose is to serve as an in-house consultancy for city government.

City Hall already has a slew of consultants, most notably Ernst & Young, hired in 2021 to prioritize Mayor Brandon Scott’s “action plan” and implement an accountability system for government performance that has not yet materialized.

Now thanks to Bloomberg, which recruited Scott for its Leadership Initiative Class several years ago, the innovation office can hire its own advisors and travel around the country.

The replenished budget provides $999,902 for outside consulting contracts and $75,000 for travel over the next two years, according to a grant breakdown reviewed by The Brew

Trust Innovation Spectrum

Smith offered little information about how his office will tackle vacant housing other than to say it will work with stakeholders and others impacted by the problem.

“We want to match the [community’s] expertise with the experts who have the background and the professional expertise.”

He said his staff has already identified community stakeholders and completed a legal notice resource guide. The end result of their research, Smith said, will not be a written report, but rather “initiatives, processes and procedures” that will improve performance by the housing department, private actors and others.

Those processes include conducting in-depth research, generating prototype ideas, testing and refining those ideas, setting up pilot programs and measuring their impact (see below).

Before he was recruited a year ago, Smith developed the “Trust Innovation Spectrum Framework” while a fellow at the Bloomberg Center at Johns Hopkins University, which he describes as “a groundbreaking tool for fostering trust between institutions and communities.”

As Baltimore’s Chief Innovation Officer, Smith says he will apply those principles in a real-world setting.

He earlier led an innovation team in Mobile, Alabama, “deploying innovative approaches to improving the quality of life for residents.” Prior to that, he developed a prototype for Alabama’s first charter school and was named as one of “six innovators to watch” by Bloomberg CityLab.

Helping Police

He said I-team’s research uncovered a major barrier to recruiting prospective candidates to the Baltimore Police Department.

“Originally, there was the thought that young people just didn’t want to be police officers in Baltimore. That remained a narrative for a long time,” Smith said.

But the team identified another critical factor – many potential candidates couldn’t afford the $350 for driving lessons to get a driver’s license. And the lack of a license kept them from entering the Police Department’s cadet program.

Smith said his office helped rectify the problem by encouraging BPD to partner with a local driving school. The cadet program typically had 4 to 5 members a year. “We are currently at 14 members and are on track for 40 members by the end of the year,” he told the board.

Comptroller Bill Henry questioned whether the I-team was looking at “the big picture,” such as whether the police department (current budget: $594 million) could be reduced in size.

“As of right now, we haven’t gotten that far,” Smith replied.

“Okay, so how do we know what the problem really is?’ Henry wondered.

“That’s in the [future] research,” Smith said.

At this point, Leach said she must “chime in” to remind everyone that the federal consent decree determines the number of police on the force, indicating that whatever the I-team may uncover about police recruiting and retention may be academic.

She then cited the 10-year financial plan her office is preparing that will tackle BPD size, current and future technology, 911 diversion and a host of other matters.

“We have really focused on how we can better and more deeply engage the community on a number of topics through budget town halls and the financial plan,” Leach explained, before turning to the $4 million gift coming before the board.

“I just want to lift up Terrance and his leadership and all the work he does for the city of Baltimore,” she said as the board unanimously voted to accept the Bloomberg grant.