Awarded proposer shall provide services, all as set forth in this RFP and more particularly described in this Section 4. The City of Raleigh’s Office of Strategy and Innovation (OSI) seeks an Innovator in Residence to provide expertise and services to advance key programs. This contracted role will work closely with OSI staff and other stakeholders to accelerate progress, apply human-centered design methods, build capacity, and foster a culture of experimentation and learning. We anticipate that services may include, but are not limited to, the following focus areas: 1. Strategic Plan Implementation Support • Provide coaching, facilitation, or advisory services to staff teams implementing strategic initiatives with the goal of helping staff unblock barriers, refine goals, or strengthen delivery approaches. • Participating in periodic check-ins or milestone reviews with OSI staff to help assess and improve initiative momentum. 2. Applied Design Thinking Services • Co-design and facilitate design sprints, workshops, or consulting projects to help City staff better understand user needs and co-create solutions. • Serve as an innovation advisor to support user research, prototyping, iteration, and other strategic innovation tools applied to City challenges. • Adapt design thinking methods and tools to fit public sector constraints and context. 3. Capacity Building • Lead or support skill-building workshops, learning labs, or cohort-based trainings focused on innovation, experimentation, or transformational leadership. • Co-develop or refine tools, templates, and frameworks that can be used across City departments to advance innovation capacity. 5. Translational Leadership • Draw on experience in academia, entrepreneurship, or civic innovation to help the city pilot new approaches in a practical, grounded way. • Bring in relevant research, case studies, or models that help staff think differently and act with confidence. • Provide thought partnership to the OSI team on strategic priorities, emerging methods, and big-picture planning.
