Stephen Goldsmith is the Derek Bok Professor of the Practice of Urban Policy at
Harvard Kennedy School and director of Data-Smart City Solutions at the
Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University. His work examines how cities
can use data, technology, and cross-sector collaboration to improve governance,
responsiveness, and opportunity. He also leads the Project on Municipal
Innovation, a regular convening of senior leaders from major U.S. cities, and
hosts the Data-Smart City Pod, a podcast featuring practitioners and scholars in
governance, innovation, artificial intelligence, and local government technology.
In his current initiatives, Professor Goldsmith works with cities to explore how
emerging and agentic AI tools can enhance community engagement and
government performance. He also focuses on how cities can improve hyper-local
environmental conditions that affect public health through the Community Data
Health Initiative.
Previously, Professor Goldsmith served as Deputy Mayor of New York City and
Mayor of Indianapolis, earning recognition for innovative approaches to
management, public-private partnerships, and competition. He was also the chief
domestic policy advisor for the George W. Bush presidential campaign in 2000,
Chair of AmeriCorps, and prosecutor for Marion County, Indiana. He has
authored eight books on urban policy and technology, including The Twenty-First
Century City, The Responsive City, A New City O/S, Collaborative Cities, and his
most recent book, Growing Fairly, on economic mobility.
He is recognized as a leading author on local government and applied technology.
He writes regularly for Government Technology and Governing magazines and
has frequently appeared in national publications, including the Wall Street
Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and New York Times.
Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles
Books
Book Chapters
Research Papers/Reports
Commentary
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Sponsored projects include research, training, convening, and other initiatives externally funded through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Funding sources can include the US federal government, state and local agencies, private foundations, corporations, and foreign entities (public and private).
The below list includes all sponsored projects in progress or completed within the current and past 2 calendar years, administered at the Harvard Kennedy School under the direction of the named faculty member as Principal Investigator. Please note that this list includes only those activities supported by external sponsored funding; other sources of support are not included (e.g., philanthropy, HKS or Harvard internal resources).
Project Title
Sponsor Name
Award Date
Transparent Engagement
Harvard Kennedy School is proud of its energetic involvement in the world. To better understand how to solve public problems by improving policy and leadership, we engage directly with policymakers, public leaders, governments, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses whose activities affect those problems. However, we recognize that such engagement can raise questions about perceived and potential conflicts of interest, so we disclose publicly the key professional activities of our faculty outside the Kennedy School. The activities disclosed below are for the most recent reporting period, as defined by University policy. Some may be paid, some may be unpaid, and others may be in exchange for expense reimbursement only.
Outside Professional Activities For Stephen Goldsmith
| Organization | Relationship |
|---|---|
| ESRI | Consulting |
| Evolv | Consulting |
| Forward | Consulting |
| Athos | Membership on a scientific or other advisory board |
| MGT | Fiduciary board membership |
| Democracy Works | Fiduciary board membership |
| GovTechForum--FEEL | Reimbursed travel |
| Oncourse | Consulting |
| Terminus Technology | Fiduciary board membership |
| Rubicon (acquired by Routeware) | Consulting |