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Pilot Pitchfest
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| Matching NYC govt agencies to support from local civil society. |
| NYU Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square S |
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May 22 (Thu) , 2025 @ 09:00 AM
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FREE |
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| DETAILS |
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The Pilot PitchFest matches New York City government agencies to support from local civil society.
Agenda
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
[Optional] Networking with Agencies, Academics, & Volunteers
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Presentation: Introductions & Overview of the Pilot Pitchfest
9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Pitches: Pitches from New York City Agencies
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Presentation: Conclusion & Next Steps for Participants
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
[Optional] Networking with Agencies, Academics, & Volunteers
Agency staff: In order to pitch your project idea, please submit your slide to brandon@pilotpitchfest.org by 11:59pm on May 9th, following the attached template.
This Year's Event
Who is the Pitchfest for?
In short: New York City agency staff, academic researchers, & volunteers. There are the groups we are trying to match to work together on projects through the Pitchfest.
Anyone-from any New York City government agency-is invited to give a low-stake two-minute pitch on a project for which they are looking for an academic or volunteer collaborator. To pitch a project, you must submit a slide with your project idea to brandon@pilotpitchfest.org by 11:59pm on May 9th, following the attached template, & then you will pitch live on May 22nd.
Academic researchers & volunteers interested in working with agencies are encouraged to attend the Pitchfest on May 22nd to meet staff & get an overview of agency projects. After the event, you will be asked to submit an interest form to indicate the agency projects in which you are interested in being matched.
What types of projects are in-scope for the Pitchfest?
There are two different project tracks-the academic track, & the volunteer track. It's okay if you do not know in which track you fit:
Academic Track: The academic track is intended to fund six-month research projects between agencies & scientists (including social scientists, like economists & behavioral scientists). This track is for agency staff who would like to run, or have run, a pilot, experiment, or randomized control trial, which would benefit from collaboration with or assessment by an academic. Projects are intended to produce evidence to aid agency decision making-and also eventually yield results that are worthy of publishing in an academic journal. This is not a planning grant. Projects should be able to demonstrate meaningful progress within six months of the grant date. Ultimately, we are looking for projects that:
Help solve a high priority research need for a New York City government agency, with clearly defined outcomes
Are likely to influence a specific agency's policies, procedures, or approach to procurement in the near term
Include a sound research methodology that is likely to lead to statistically significant research results
Are likely to produce novel findings of interest to cities & researchers beyond New York
Grant decisions will be made by a judging pool of representatives from local & national philanthropies.
Volunteer Track: The volunteer track is intended to create pairings between agencies & skilled volunteers from civil society (e.g. tech workers, consultants, grad student classes, etc.). This track is for staff who could use technical help from between 1-4 volunteers on a tactical project of no more than three months. Projects that might be a fit could include user research studies, basic AI prototypes, data analysis, or business planning exercises. Hypothetical projects that could be a fit for the volunteer track include:
UX feedback on a new city website
Business planning for a new city service
Basic prototype of a new budgeting tool
All volunteers will apply to work with agencies & will be vetted by the Pitchfest team. Volunteers who are successfully matched with an agency will be asked to sign an NDA.
How do I pitch a project?
You must submit a slide with your project idea by May 9th, following the attached template. To submit, please email brandon@pilotpitchfest.org. We will confirm you are on the pitching roster by May 16th-and if you are the first from your agency to pitch, we may ask you to spend a few minutes explaining what your agency does. Then, on the 22nd, you have to show up to pitch! It's okay if your project is just in the idea phase-this is a bottom-up process & the point is to encourage people to get their ideas out there in a low-stakes, low-risk environment.
What happens after the event?
After the Pitchfest, academics & volunteers will be asked to submit an interest form by May 31st, indicating their desire to be matched with a specific agency or project. Agencies will review interest form submissions & we will facilitate intros in cases of mutual interest.
Then, projects split based on tracks:
Academic Track: Principal investigators of academic track projects will be asked to submit a short funding application of no more than $80K to the Pitchfest team by July 31st. Finalists will be invited to interview in early September.
Volunteer Track: Throughout the summer, the Pitchfest team will work with agencies to better define volunteer-led projects, culminating in an MOU defining the project scope. All volunteers will be asked to sign an NDA before starting work.
We expect both academic & volunteer track projects to launch in September.
Last Year's Event
Last year, we held an inaugural Pitchfest, inviting New York City agencies & researchers to deliver low-stakes, two-minute pitches on pilot projects they hoped to run in the following 12 months. Some stuff worked well. Some stuff didn't. In response to popular demand, in Year II, we expanded the program to include social scientists & tech volunteers.
260 Attendees
30 Pitches
$80K in Prize Funds
Download the Deck
Watch the Recording
Funded Projects
Following the Pitchfest, agencies & researchers were able to apply for funding & two projects were selected, which occurred in Summer 2024.
Project 1: Using Computer Vision to Automate Bike Lane Inspection.
Project 2: Validating the Impacts of Leaf Mulching on Urban Soil Health.
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