Partnership in Urban Processes

We are partners in various municipal processes that deal with strategic issues relating to our field of activity. We bring with us innovative methodological tools, knowledge acquired during research processes, and human-centered design thinking.

Partners in Formulating the City's Vision of an Innovation District Model

The urban innovation District will be an arena focused around central landmarks in the heart of the city: the high-tech park, the university, the hospital, and the technology campus under construction. The Innovation Quarter will enable the expansion of the city's entrepreneurial ecosystem through physical, social and content-related cooperation with partners and other stakeholders. This process will have national ramifications such as strengthening the local economy and positioning Beer Sheva as a vital metropolitan center.

The innovation team has played a significant role in the planning and writing of a summary description document submitted for a state grant for the quarter's planning. The Beer Sheva municipality was awarded the grant as part of which the team is currently participating in the process design and planning.

Partners in Assimilating a Language of Innovation:

Urban Innovation Forum

The urban innovation forum is an initiative of Beer Sheva municipality employees. The forum – a group of middle management workers at the municipality and its subsidiary companies – was founded after the participants understood the need for broader cooperation between their various departments in order to successfully implement various projects and programs throughout the city. The forum, which was founded in May 2018, meets every two months and consists of approximately 30 permanent members.
The forum's activity is managed entirely by a leading team from within the forum itself, which prepares the meetings according to feedback received from the participants.
The innovation team has been a full partner in the team leading the forum and assists in establishing it as a platform for streamlining city processes.

Partners in Planning a Municipal Hub

Partnership in formulation of a model to establish a municipal hub and in submitting requests for resources

The Beer Sheva municipality is leading and promoting the planning of a municipal hub that will constitute an arena for joint activity advancing technological, business and social innovation and entrepreneurship, and that will serve as a meeting place connecting a community of young people, entrepreneurs, and graduates of local academic institutions. Establishing a municipal hub will help strengthen the city's crystallizing high-tech ecosystem and attract a productive community.
The innovation team is participating in the discussions and tours and in formulation of the vision of the municipal hub.

Partners in Thinking:

HaReshet and the Local Authority

The Eretz-Ir NGO recently won the JDC tender for formulating an optimal work model for cooperation between the public and social sectors. Consequently, HaReshet (lit. "The Network") – a community of young people in Beer Sheva – promoted a process aimed at creating ongoing joint collaborations between civil society and the local authority. To this end, a series of four key meetings was held for a joint task force of the Beer Sheva municipality, Kivunim, the Bloomberg team, the Urban Innovation Authority, and representatives from Etetz-Ir and HaReshet.

In accordance with instructions from the mayor, this task force strove to create a model and operative framework for the development of a community quarter in the "Bet" neighborhood, targeted at meeting the residents' needs. The model was presented to the mayor and the municipality Director General and initial steps were undertaken towards its implementation in the "Bet" neighborhood. These steps included appointing a neighborhood coordinator on behalf of Kivunim and the publication of a call to residents and business owners for initiatives that will be implemented with the assistance of ICL (Israel Chemicals).

Partners in Formulating the 'Beer Sheva 2030' Strategic Plan

During 2019, the city management composed a strategic municipal plan for the coming decade with the help of the TASC consultation firm. A small task force led by the municipality's Director General was assembled and met regularly in order to formulate the urban vision, to identify the city's growth engines, and to break these down into concrete steps.
The Bloomberg team director actively participated in the leading task force and "design thinking" methodology ideation workshops were held with interested municipal parties to formulate operative steps and focused core issues to be addressed by the program.

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