On a busy Thursday last May, representatives from dozens of New York City government agencies convened in a large conference space in downtown Brooklyn, hoping to connect with researchers from universities and NGOs with the skills, interest, and bandwidth to help them with some of their most pressing challenges.
Columbia University faculty and researchers were there, too, and after a day spent learning about the over 100 projects presented, expressed formal interest in more than 50 of them.
The May event was organized by Pilot City, a national non-profit with New York City roots that is dedicated to supporting "public entrepreneurship" by providing both the venues and funding to support university and other researchers in working with government agencies.
This year, the Data Science Institute partnered with Pilot City to provide an additional $300,000 in funding exclusively for Columbia University researchers who successfully matched with a city agency.
This inaugural cohort of DSI Impact Seed Fund recipients will be working with a wide range of city agencies, tackling problems ranging from street asset planning and management to analyzing racial and ethnic disparities in fall injuries and supporting work at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. One project will focus on ways to more efficiently manage the marine traffic in New York's waterways.
The Data Science Institute is excited to be partnering with Pilot City to further strengthen collaborations between Columbia University researchers and the government agencies that are so vital to keeping New York a vibrant and dynamic place to live and work. The project partnerships run through Spring 2027, with a final presentation at the conclusion.
We look forward to sharing further updates over the coming months on how these projects evolve to help meet the needs of New Yorkers and inspire unique new research directions.
