Projects
Work in Progress
After the Pitchfest ‘25 event, 240+ academic researchers and 100+ technical assistants expressed interest in partnering with city agencies for the projects they pitched. Sinc then, we have been busy working to “match” agencies with these local experts, and many projects are already up and running!
Matched Academic Researchers
Matchmaking is still in progress for the academic researchers. Stay tuned for updates!
Matched Technical Assistants
Interactive Emissions Planning Tool
Mike is partnering with NYCHA to develop an emissions reduction planning tool, which NYCHA staff can use to forecast the emission impacts of upcoming capital investments and inform agency-wide decarbonization strategy.
Mike Hsu
matched with NYC Housing Authority
Emergency Operations AI Support
Julian is partnering with NYCEM to pilot an AI application and identify features that can be leveraged during interagency meetings for notetaking, reducing the burden of manual notetaking and freeing up time for higher-value tasks.
Julian Khalifa
matched with NYC Emergency Management
Human-Centered Design Approach
Sarah is partnering with DYCD to support the research and design phase of the discoverDYCD application to simplify how parents, youth, and community members search for, evaluate, and apply to DYCD programs.
Sarah LeQuire
matched with Department of Youth and Community Development
Improved Contract Management
Missy is partnering with ACS to document current contract management and case practice processes so that she can identify strategies to more effectively integrate the work of different teams and improve service delivery.
Missy Quick
matched with Administration for Children’s Services
Vehicle Emissions Measurement
Georgi is partnering with OMB to develop a computer vision model that leverages traffic camera data to estimate vehicle usage, offering insights into vehicle emissions that could inform the agency’s future funding priorities.
Georgi Georgiev
matched with Office of Management and Budget
Arts Programming for Older Adults
Isabelle is partnering with Aging to design an expanded arts-based resource guide to be made available to the agency’s older adult centers and retirement communities, based on participant needs identified through focus groups and surveys.
Isabelle De Brabanter
matched with Department for the Aging
Compelling Visual Communication
Valérie is partnering with MOCEJ to develop well-tested visual communication assets that effectively translate climate science findings into accessible formats for public consumption and education about climate change.
Valérie Lechêne
matched with Office of Climate and Environmental Justice
Post-Disaster Recovery Support
Emiliano is partnering with NYCEM to integrate existing nonprofit labor into the post-disaster housing recovery systems and processes in order to meet the city’s increasing recovery needs with its limited resources.
Emiliano Segura
matched with NYC Emergency Management
VR Training for Crisis Responses
Melissa is partnering with OCMH to create a detailed storyboard for a trauma-informed virtual reality (VR) training module to support de-escalation during mental health crises within the city’s community shelters.
Melissa Major
matched with Office of Community Mental Health
Mapping of Products with Lead
Kiran is partnering with DOHMH to develop a publicly accessible and multijurisdictional visualization platform that maps incidents of lead-containing consumer products across the U.S., in order to prompt action in their countries of origin.
Kiran Suryadevara
matched with Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Flood Protection Knowledge Gaps
Catherine is partnering with NYCEM to survey property owners and then propose a toolkit to address their knowledge gaps related to flood risk, mitigation, and protection, preparing New Yorkers for future weather events.
Catherine Prunella
matched with NYC Emergency Management
Safer Vehicle Pick-Ups & Drop-Offs
Manasvi and Neysa are partnering with TLC to design a location-specific pilot that optimizes pick-up and drop-off locations for for-hire vehicles, which is meant to improve safety while still considering rider experience and efficiency.
Manasvi Menon & Neysa Pranger
matched with Taxi & Limousine Commission
Food Pantry Usage Assessment
Anakaren, Brittney, Emily, and Giulia are partnering with DSS to conduct surveys with the city’s food pantry users in order to understand the recently elevated demand and inform future programmatic priorities for the agency and its non-profit partners.
Anakaren, Brittney, Emily, & Giulia
matched with Department of Social Services