Our Purpose and Mission
The Baltimore City Innovation Team (i-Team) uses data, research, and human-centered design to develop solutions to some of the city’s most complex challenges. As part of a nationwide initiative supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the i-Team works closely with residents, government agencies, and community partners to build strategies that are equitable, evidence-based, and rooted in lived experience.
The team is currently focused on two major initiatives: housing vacancy prevention and public safety recruitment and retention.
In addressing housing vacancy, the i-Team spent months conducting field research and building relationships across Baltimore to better understand the scale, causes, and impacts of property abandonment. Their research revealed that nearly half of the city's progress in remediation is offset by new vacancies—often caused by preventable issues like deferred maintenance. Recognizing this, the i-Team is pioneering a shift in strategy by treating vacancy prevention as its own priority. By identifying intervention points earlier, the team aims to support residents in staying in their homes and preventing further neighborhood decline.
In public safety, the i-Team is reimagining the Baltimore Police Department’s Cadet Program—a key recruitment pipeline for young Baltimoreans ages 18–20.5. The team identified barriers such as the high cost of driver’s education as obstacles to participation. In partnership with the Abell Foundation and MJM Driving Academy, they piloted a parallel driving school program that provides cadets with free training and licensing, helping to make law enforcement careers more accessible to local youth.
Together, these projects reflect the i-Team’s commitment to creating responsive, people-centered solutions that serve all Baltimoreans.