Mayor Nutter Marks Opening of Philadelphia's Governmental 'Innovation Lab'
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Nutter today cut a virtual ribbon to open what's being billed as an "Innovation Laboratory" -- a place for schoolchildren, city workers, and local high-tech experts to come up with solutions to Philadelphia's problems.
Mayor Nutter opened the Innovation Lab by sending a tweet on his Blackberry that activated a video of a virtual ribbon falling down.
Flanking him on the 16th floor of the Municipal Services Building were local schoolkids who will be participants in the lab.
City managing director Richard Negrin says the lab will be a meeting place for three groups that don't normally cross paths:
"You're going to see city employees, for the first time, sitting side-by-side with children from our communities who are interesting in technology and innovation, and representatives of the local tech community," he said.
And what they'll be doing, Negrin explains, is brainstorming.
"You're going to see those three groups work together around a problem that they choose, and create a solution -- whether it's a web site or an app, something that they come up with to solve some civic problem."
The lab was created with $100,000 in city money. More information at phila.gov/MDO/innovation.