Trust and Public Innovation: Insights from Baltimore’s Transformation

An event of the Bloomberg Center for Cities


3:00 p.m.
Bloomberg Center for Cities (T-340/341)

About the Event

Join The People Lab and the Bloomberg Center for Cities for an enlightening discussion with Terrance Smith, Chief Innovation Officer for Baltimore’s Office of Innovation and Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow. This discussion will focus on the intricate relationship between trust and innovation in public institutions. Smith’s research focuses on navigating trust to pave the path for public innovation, and during this event, he will discuss how trustworthiness can drive transformative solutions within the public sector. In conversation with Emma Bloomberg Professor Elizabeth Linos, he will explore frameworks and strategies central to fostering innovation and enhancing trust in local governments.

 

Speakers

Terrance Smith headshot

Terrance Smith

Chief Innovation Officer

Terrance Smith is the Chief Innovation Officer for the Mayor’s Office of Innovation (Baltimore i-Team), based in Baltimore, where he specializes in leading trust-centered strategies to address urban challenges, including housing vacancy prevention, public safety recruitment/retention, and government agency reform. His work focuses on creating just, fair & co-developed solutions to foster meaningful, sustainable change between institutions and communities.

In addition to serving as a Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow, Terrance is a global research scholar. He developed the Trust Innovation Spectrum Framework, a pioneering tool for fostering institutional trustworthiness, and authored Navigating Trust: Paving the Path to Public Innovation, published by the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. This work explores the intersection of trust and innovation, offering actionable insights for public leaders.

Previously, Terrance held roles emphasizing strategic leadership, civic engagement, and design thinking. As the Founding Director of Mobile’s Office of Strategic Initiatives, he led the city’s Innovation Delivery Capacity and Data Center to enhance operational efficiency and cross-departmental collaboration. He also directed Mobile’s Mayor’s Innovation Team, achieving national recognition for innovative solutions to urban challenges, including decreasing housing vacancy and driving residential development.

As a sought-after speaker and educator, Terrance has presented at global forums such as the NATO Youth Summit, the World Resources Institute, and the Creative Bureaucracy Festival. His engagements emphasize institutional trustworthiness, storytelling, and fostering community collaboration as pillars for driving public innovation.

Through thoughtful, trust-centered strategies, Terrance is contributing to the creation of a future where cities thrive as just, fair, and resilient communities, with collective efforts fostering sustainable change.

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