The City of Carlsbad’s new design-driven innovation process combined multiple disciplines and frameworks which became inclusive to both creative and analytical mindsets.  

• Human-Centered Design Thinking: They used empathy interviews, journey mapping, persona development, and iterative prototyping to ground each initiative in residents and employee experiences. A key component was to empathize and gather insights whereby public input was collected through community workshops, digital surveys, and interactive platforms such as Carlsbad Connects. This ensured that every project was rooted in a deep understanding of residents’ needs and community values.

• Lean Six Sigma is a continuous improvement model that combines the principles of Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma with data driven decision making for root cause analysis to eliminate waste, reduce variation, and improve efficiency in organizational processes. The team, trained in process optimization, applied value stream mapping and root cause analysis to streamline workflows and eliminate waste.

• Agile and Scrum: Using 2-week innovation sprints, they isolated the challenge, developed a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) quickly tested hypotheses, iterated on solutions, and delivered improvements.

• Data Analytics: GIS visualization and open Tableau dashboards made Strategic Plan Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) transparent and trackable. Platforms like ZenCity allowed the city to analyze sentiment and feedback from residents across digital channels. This qualitative data provided leadership with real-time insights, ensuring that city decisions were grounded in community needs rather than internal assumptions. All helped to create an inclusive community. 

Innovation sprints became their ‘secret sauce’ to improve internal processes. These structured, but flexible engagements blended Human-Centered Design Thinking, Lean Six Sigma, and Agile delivery. Departments identified a problem, the innovation team helped reframe it, and together they co-designed potential solutions—testing quickly, failing fast, and pivoting often.

Staff who never saw themselves as innovators or designers were now contributing to systems change. Tableau dashboards replaced manual spreadsheets. GIS tools visualized emergency response times. Human-Centered Design Thinking was no longer just a term—The sprints helped democratize design, it was becoming a practice.

The Sr. Program Manager recalls, “Once people saw how the sprints helped solve actual problems—like pothole tracking or 311 response times—they were hooked. They started bringing their own ideas forward.”

A Culture of Community Collaboration Fostered a Shared Purpose
The cultural shift sparked by Carlsbad’s innovation efforts reached far beyond city staff—it transformed how residents engaged with their local government. The people of Carlsbad were not passive recipients of innovation; they became co-creators of change.

At the core of this transformation was a move away from top-down decision-making toward inclusive, community-centered design. Local organizations, small business owners, and neighborhood leaders weren’t just asked for input—they were welcomed as active partners in shaping the city’s future.

This participatory model redefined the relationship between residents and City Hall. From faster emergency response times to reimagined public spaces, community members experienced real improvements in city services—alongside a renewed sense of connection, ownership, and belonging. The result: a more resilient, engaged, and trusting community built through collaboration and shared purpose.

Community-Informed Placemaking
In collaboration with community partners such as the Carlsbad Village Association, the City reimagined public spaces through a community-driven lens. Initiatives like redesigned city banners, seasonal lighting, and creative outdoor dining solutions were co-developed with local input—resulting in more cost-effective, impactful, and inclusive outcomes. By embedding community feedback into the design process, these efforts not only enhanced neighborhood identity but also fostered a deeper sense of ownership and belonging among residents.

The Director of the Carlsbad Village Association, reflects on this period as “the most impactful years,” noting the collaboration transformed how downtown worked with City Hall.

Smarter City: Better Access and Response
The Carlsbad Connects app, a revamped 311 system, gave residents a simple and effective tool to report issues and track updates. Engagement quadrupled, resolution times dropped significantly, and the user experience was fully redesigned to promote transparency and responsiveness. This shift not only built trust—it made residents feel heard.

Improved Emergency Services
Perhaps most critically, innovations in the Fire Department helped save lives. The development of a Fire Operations Intelligence System, using live data feeds from ESRI, enabled smarter decisions about ambulance placement and emergency response. As the Assistant Fire Chief noted, this data-driven approach led to the addition of two new ambulances and measurable reductions in response times. The system’s success gained attention beyond Carlsbad, leading to collaboration with nearby cities such as Oceanside,  and other North Zone cities (ie: Vista, Encinitas, Escondido, etc)  through technical rescue efforts, standards of cover updates, and shared governance plans on emergency response. The system received national recognition from the Center for Digital Government, suggesting its visibility and potential influence on peers.

Support for Small Businesses
During the pandemic, the innovation team supported the business community by helping to: create a joint crisis response between Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce and the Carlsbad Village Association, launched initiatives like Gift Carlsbad, a shop local program designed to provide further economic stimulus to businesses deeply affected by Covid, and developed a small business economic revitalization package. These initiatives encouraged community-centered purchasing at a time when it was needed most and helped sustain the local economy.

Educational Access and Transparency
Open dashboards and GIS visualizations made performance data—like pothole repairs, emergency services KPIs, and strategic goal progress—accessible and easy to understand. Residents gained not just information, but actionable insight into city priorities.

Carlsbad’s innovation did not go unnoticed. The city earned a Bloomberg What Works Cities Certification, joining a prestigious network of data-driven governments. The certification is a standard of excellence for data-driven and well-managed local government. It evaluates cities based on their use of data to inform policy, allocate funding, improve services, and engage residents. Through this certification, Carlsbad accessed policy evaluation frameworks, tools to strengthen procurement, and a vibrant peer-learning network.

Participation in What Works Cities gave Carlsbad a framework to measure and improve data governance and public engagement. The Sr Program Manager noted that it “gave us language and standards. It made our work more credible and connected us with others doing the same thing.”

Carlsbad also became a Top Digital City in 2023 as recognized by the Center for Digital Government. Awards like these signaled national validation and brought visibility to the city’s work, making it easier to attract grant funding, pilot new technologies, and recruit civic-minded talent.

The impact of these partnerships was tangible. Carlsbad was able to transform its open data portal, establish citywide data standards, and build capacity through workshops with peer cities. Participation in networks like Innovate78 (cities located along the 78 freeway corridor) and Results for America expanded the city’s access to best practices and helped scale internal innovation practices.