From Public Health Challenges to Solutions 

Project Partners: Kansas City, Missouri Health Department
Project Timeline: April 2026–April 2027

KC Digital Drive is partnering with the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department to bring new approaches to problem-solving, technology adoption, and service delivery. Together, we’re helping Health Department staff identify operational challenges, explore potential solutions, and test ideas that could improve public health services and outcomes.

The initiative is about more than solving individual problems. It’s about building the tools, processes, and relationships that help local government innovate from within.

The project began with a facilitated discovery process involving Health Department staff and leadership. Through workshops and collaborative problem-solving, the team identified six priority challenges as starting points for innovation.

Rather than prescribing solutions upfront, the initiative brings together staff and other collaborators to explore what might work, develop prototypes, and evaluate their potential impact.

Solutions could take many forms, from new technology applications and existing software tools to redesigned processes, improved programming, or new approaches to service delivery.

A Practical Roadmap for Innovation

The project follows a structured process that moves ideas from discovery to testing and shared learning.

• Discover: Engage Health Department staff to identify and define priority challenges.

• Collaborate: Form innovation teams around six identified problem statements and develop Innovation Canvases to guide their work.

• Prototype: Develop and test potential solutions, with a target of January 2027 for initial prototypes.

• Evaluate: Measure results, document lessons learned, and assess opportunities for implementation or further development.

• Share: Convene an Innovation Summit by April 2027 to present findings, exchange knowledge, and identify next steps.

Throughout the process, KC Digital Drive provides facilitation, coaching, research, and connections to expertise across the region’s technology and innovation ecosystem.

Building Innovation Capacity Beyond Public Health

While the initial focus is the Kansas City Health Department, the initiative also offers an opportunity to develop a model for civic innovation that could be adapted by other city departments and regional public agencies.

By connecting public-sector expertise with technology, research, and collaborative problem-solving, the project aims to strengthen government’s ability to respond to changing needs, improve services, and pursue new opportunities.

The larger goal is to make innovation an ongoing capacity within local government—not just a series of individual projects.