A focus on procurement has helped Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava drive innovation—in transit, cargo, and more—throughout her Florida county. Photos courtesy of Miami-Dade County and Miami-Dade Innovation Authority
Today’s city leaders recognize that procurement is more than just a compliance exercise—it can be a powerful driver of innovation. Yet, many of them wrestle with a similar struggle when they look to tap their city’s purchasing power to pioneer solutions: a lack of speed. The same safeguards that protect the process from corruption can also get in the way of solving problems at the pace residents need.
That’s why leaders in Florida’s Miami-Dade County have spent the past two years rethinking how local governments approach procurement and, as a result, have created what is being heralded as a next-generation approach at the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority. The effort—which has been guided by a strong mayoral vision—is removing choke points in the process and making better use of private-sector expertise and networks. In doing so, it is providing ample insights for cities looking to take their procurement strategies to the next level.
A vision for speeding up the process.
When a mayor sets a vision for procurement as a force for innovation—and specifically accelerating the pace of innovation—it can be a game-changer. And that’s exactly what kickstarted the new way of doing things in Miami-Dade.
For Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, it was a case of inspiration. She has long worked to elevate procurement as a strategic function across her government, and to that end has partnered with the Bloomberg Philanthropies-supported Procurement Excellence Network.