The Science and Soul of Innovation:
Coalition Building for Better Cities
“There are books that arrive ahead of their moment, books that arrive behind it, and occasionally, rarely, books that arrive exactly when they are needed. This is one of those books.”
- Brenna Berman, Former CIO, City of Chicago and Founder, City Tech Collaborative
Every generation experiences moments when the world changes faster than the systems designed to support people. Today, we are living through one of those moments.
What can you do but rely on a small but mighty group of irrepressible - but pragmatic - optimists?
The work of the builders highlighted in this book is built on this foundation, because innovation is only successful when institutions adopt it, and people benefit from it. We are architects of innovation through collaboration.
Innovation is a team sport. Hear stories of how they came together.
They are not stories of perfectly designed systems or carefully planned careers. They are stories of leaders who found themselves operating in the space between public service, social impact, and market realities — often without a map, often out of necessity. They built organizations that didn’t fit existing categories because the problems they were trying to solve didn’t either.
I hope that as you read this book, you will find the tools, stories, and encouragement you need to step forward in your own work, wherever you sit. Because building the future is not the responsibility of a few; it is a collective invitation. Let’s begin.
Stay updated on book release dates, events, and conversations with the innovators.
