7 cities added to Bloomberg ‘innovation team’ grant list

NEW YORK – Seven cities in the U.S., Canada and Israel stand to get up to $1.5 million apiece from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s foundation to create “innovation teams.”

The cities will work on issues ranging from reducing poverty to recruiting public workers.

Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the selections Thursday. They expand a program that already includes nearly 20 cities worldwide.

The new additions include Toronto, the first Canadian city in the program. The southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva (BEH’- er SHAY’-vah) also is on the new list.

In the U.S., the newly selected cities include Baltimore and Detroit, as well as Anchorage, Alaska; Austin, Texas, and Durham, North Carolina.

Mayors will put together the innovation teams. They’ll be tasked with analyzing problems, crafting solutions and measuring results.