I3@AFA: The beginning of a new era for transformative, tech-enabled Infrastructure.
Two years ago, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) launched the Innovative Infrastructure Initiative (I3), a consortium of technologists, investors, policymakers, academics, and other thinkers who united to champion and accelerate transformative infrastructure projects. Since then, I3 has convened leaders to address complex challenges and helped catalyze projects across the country that deploy innovative strategies to meet pressing infrastructure needs.
Earlier this month, I3 began the next chapter in its story. As America’s mayors gathered in Washington, D.C. for the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, SIP announced to a standing-room-only crowd a new partnership with Accelerator for America (AFA) to expand I3 and help more communities deploy transformative projects to meet pressing infrastructure needs.
Reimagined as I3@AFA, the new program will focus on the procurement and delivery of technology-enabled infrastructure, such as the equitable deployment of clean energy, electric vehicle charging, and new forms of mobility, as well as opportunities for private and non-traditional methods of financing. Mayors attending the conference identified these areas as being particularly important to them. This new partnership will also leverage AFA’s leadership in fostering innovation by sharing knowledge, tools, and best practices across U.S. cities.
I3 has always had the goal of bringing together best-in-class thinkers across sectors to create an independent infrastructure accelerator that fosters innovation and encourages public sector experimentation. AFA brings a strong board and powerful track record to the partnership.
“With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the pace of tech innovation, there is simply too much work to be done, and too much new opportunity to capture, to do business the way it’s always been done,” Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, AFA’s CEO said. “Cities and their regional and state infrastructure partners are ready to think about infrastructure solutions differently, and I3@AFA is ready to bring them the resources they need to accomplish their vision.”
The collaborative approach of I3@AFA will help local leaders access new solutions that leverage public and private investment to improve quality of life in communities across America. It will build on the AFA’s success developing communities of practice, like its Stimulus Command Centers and the Smart City Accelerator, that bring together a cohort of cities around a common problem or salient opportunity. I3@AFA will include a group of cities and infrastructure partners focused on developing local capacity to implement innovative, tech-enabled solutions through procurement, private financing, and transformative infrastructure project delivery.
I3@AFA will establish a community of practice that will include city government leaders, alongside regional and state infrastructure peers, working together on an identified infrastructure project in their community. I3@AFA also expects to engage partners from the public, private, philanthropic, and educational sectors. The group will convene to receive expert resources and share peer learning to assist in the pre-development stage of the project and ongoing support as the projects begin the procurement and implementation stages.
“SIP’s mission is to build technology-enabled infrastructure that is more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive,” said David Gilford, SIP’s Head of Policy and Strategic Partnerships. “Bringing creative capital and forward-thinking local leaders together, I3@AFA will enable towns and cities to realize the promise of the federal government’s generational investment to prepare communities for tomorrow’s challenges.”
Wasting no time, I3@AFA has already begun work towards selecting its first cohort of participating cities this spring. If you would like to get involved, please reach out to connect@infrainitiative.com.