Columbia University’s Data Science Institute (DSI) is putting $300,000 behind research projects designed to help New York City agencies solve real-world problems, from managing marine traffic on the city’s waterways to understanding who is most at risk of serious falls.
The funding, announced on November 5, comes through a new partnership with Pilot City, a national nonprofit with New York roots that connects government agencies with university and NGO researchers. The money is reserved exclusively for Columbia researchers who successfully matched with a city agency.
From PitchFest to partnership
The collaborations took shape last May at Pilot City’s NYC PitchFest, held in a large conference space in Downtown Brooklyn. Representatives from dozens of city agencies came to the event to present more than 100 projects and look for researchers with the expertise and capacity to take them on.
Columbia faculty and researchers were among those in the room. After a day of hearing pitches, they formally expressed interest in more than 50 of the projects – roughly half of everything presented.
Pilot City describes its mission as supporting “public entrepreneurship” by giving researchers both the venues and the funding they need to work directly with government.
What the projects will tackle
The first cohort of DSI Impact Seed Fund recipients will work with a wide range of city agencies. Their projects include:
- Planning and managing street assets
- Analyzing racial and ethnic disparities in fall injuries
- Supporting work at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
- Finding more efficient ways to manage marine traffic in New York’s waterways
Results expected in spring 2027
The partnerships will run through spring 2027 and end with a final presentation of the results. The institute says the goal is to strengthen ties between Columbia researchers and the agencies that keep the city running, while also opening up new directions for academic research.
DSI plans to share updates on the projects over the coming months as the work develops.
