Incoming NYC[x] Fellow
This winter I’m excited to say that I’ll be joining the second cohort of NYC[x] Innovation Fellows:
Move at the speed of need, USDR
Since March 2020, the New York City Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer team has successfully partnered with volunteer technologists from U.S. Digital Response on multiple COVID-related projects. Now, New York City is launching the second cohort of its NYC[x] Innovation Fellows program to expand on this successful collaboration, embedding small teams of technologists with City agencies to rapidly solve specific challenges through the use of best practices in digital service delivery.
What will we be working on?
NYC[x] Innovation Fellows are working toward one of three high-priority projects as part of Cohort 2:
Minority- & Women-Owned Business Data Directory: Fostering critical business opportunities for minority and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBEs) by creating a public-facing directory for government agencies and outside entities looking for potential vendors and partners.
Payment Sites Optimization Project: Identifying key intervention points in NYC’s payment portals to improve New Yorkers’ experience interacting with the site to make payments, and thus reduce the need for in-person transactions.
Older Adults Virtual Programming and Service Finder: Designing and building a public-facing service finder tool to help older New Yorkers explore, find, and access providers and remote services designed to help reduce isolation and facilitate social connection.
What is the Fellowship?
The NYC[x] Innovation Fellowship first started with a fall cohort of volunteer technologists. Read the press release about their work here. Mayor Bill de Blasio congratulated the fellows at the end of their stint, saying that, “The work of the NYC[x] Innovation Fellows will have a lasting impact on improving New Yorkers’ lives.”
Now, a second cohort of NYC[x] Innovation Fellows will launch by the end of November 2020 on a ten-week sprint, with each fellow contributing a minimum of 20 hours per week. The fellowship will include a week off during the holiday season and end after the first week of February.
Volunteer fellows will gain invaluable hands-on experience solving critical problems for the largest municipal government in the United States, demonstrate how powerful using digital best practices can be for agency partners, and create tangible benefits for millions of New Yorkers. NYC[x] Innovation Fellows are also fully integrated into the broader volunteer community within U.S. Digital Response.
