Dive Brief:

• Data science firm Civis Analytics, location planning company Urban SDK and curb data collection platform Coord are among the startups that will work with cities as part of the 2019 Startup in Residence (STIR) cohort. 
• The program gives startups a chance to work with local governments on civic challenges. Civis Analytics will work with Norfolk, VA to analyze historical flood risk data and property characteristics to help citizens protect their property from rising sea levels; Urban SDK was selected by Memphis, TN to create a data integration and management platform for transit planners; and San Diego chose Coord to create an inventory of the city’s painted curbs and parking signs.
• Twenty-two governments were involved in the latest round, and STIR has a goal of expanding to 100 city, county and state partners within five years. The full list of partnerships is available here.

Dive Insight:

STIR started as a pilot in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Innovation in 2014, and has since expanded into a City Innovate-supported nonprofit that encompasses all of North America. 

The newly-selected startups will work on a volunteer basis over 16 weeks on their technology projects, with a goal to not just create a new product, but to ease tension between the tech sector and government. The program also allows governments to find a willing tech partner without going through a broader contract search. Some startups are awarded government contracts after the 16-week program, but contracts are not guaranteed.

The latest list of partners shows a wide range of projects, showing the scope of the new applications and data that governments are looking for. Some projects are focused on smoothing out internal civic functions, such as the partnership between bluDot and the City of Walnut Creek, CA, to create a tool that tracks and manages calls and meetings with business owners. Syracuse, NY will work with Camino on a permit management tool.

Several other partnerships are focused around transportation and mobility data, such as the partnership between Urban SDK and Memphis. That collaboration will help the city and the Memphis Area Transportation Authority develop a collaborative platform for transportation data, building off of Urban SDK’s predictive intelligence software.