Innovation Champions

About the Innovation Champion Program

Innovation Champions play an important role in making our City government more efficient.

• Our Mission: To foster a continuous improvement culture that properly balances efficiency and innovation with reliability and quality. 

• Our Vision: The City of Tulsa will embrace the culture of curiosity and innovation at all levels.

• Our Values:        
  • Customers. We are dedicated to listening to customers, understanding their needs, and aligning processes to honor our commitments to them.
  • Integrity. We act and lead with honesty and integrity, never compromising the truth.
  • Breaking down barriers to improvement. Innovation and improvement happen when people feel safe enough to try new things. We know there can be roadblocks to trying new things and we believe in helping employees get past those so that they can be empowered to continuously improve their work.
  • High expectations. We expect excellence in our work, our organization and the City we are building.
  • Teamwork. We work together toward common goals.

• Our Motto:  Teach. Improve. Serve.

Every year since 2015, the City has offered training to all City employees to learn skills and tools to further the goal of continuous improvement.  The course incorporates different components of learning - group classes, online learning, and application of concepts to an improvement process at the City. Participants are able to develop professionally and provide tangible improvements for their co-workers and customers. Approximately 20-40 employees participate and graduate with a Green Belt in LEAN/Six Sigma every year. 

Below are some examples of the projects that have been completed by Innovation Champions:

5S at AB Jewell Water Treatment Plant

Nitrification Control in Water Distribution System

Identifying the Voice of the Customer (VOC) with Tools

Onboarding, Orientation, and Training New Hires

5S at Refuse Inspections Offices

Office 5S at the City of Tulsa

Reducing Errors in City Council Agendas

Increasing Customer Care Agent Availability

Physically Limited Refuse Approvals

Creating & Centralizing Procedures for Right-of-Way

Improving Evidence Retrieval Wait Times

Refuse & Recycling 5S

Northside WWTP 5S

Food Permit Licensing Renewal Process Improvement

Nitrification Reporting

Economic Development Funding Process

Increasing Customer Care Agent Availability

Food Permit Licensing

P-Card Processing

Engineering Services Bidding Process

W&S Injuries