Kate Daly, SVP at the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), talks about the government program initiatives on civic innovation at the Techweek New York City Summit 2015. The initiatives focus on equity, inclusion, and innovation along with the tech ecosystem, which forms an essential part of NYCEDC’s work. New York, which has a $125B tech economy, has been one of the most tech-friendly and innovative cities in the USA in the past decade.
Some of our key takeaways from the conversation:
- The Growth of Tech Economy:
The city has seen about $6.7B of venture capital flow, contributing to its $125B tech economy. Over 300K workers have been working with the innovation economy with a 6.7% faster growth as compared to any other sector in the city. - Initiatives:
The Applied Sciences Initiative is active today in the space provided by Google, that provides deep engineering talent. An incubator network of 17 incubators was launched that provides workspace in tech, fashion, manufacturing, and food. Reliable and faster internet connectivity was launched in buildings and industrial business zones, and free public WiFi quarters were developed for residential New Yorkers. - New York City BigApps:
The civic app opens up a broad spectrum of municipal data on transportation, sanitation, electricity consumption, and more. It provides digital solutions to improve the lives of NY residents. - Focus of the Competition:
Affordable housing, connected cities, civic engagement, and zero waste are the major stated goals in the NYC plan to have a technically connected city. On November 1, the Demo day will be held to encourage participants with questions, suggestions, and feedback.
Below are some of the key points and moments from the conversation:
- 0:15 – Kate Daly described the purpose and focus of the NYCEDC
- 0:37 – The tech economy in NY is growing rapidly, with an increase in venture capital flow and employment in the innovation economy
- 1:20 – NYCEDC has led a number of initiatives in the form of an applied science program, an incubator network, a high-speed internet network to buildings as well as industrial business zones, and free public WiFi quarters
- 2:37 – NYCEDC’s program BigApps can help New York by making municipal data available to the public and helping to solve civic problems
- 3:52 – BigApps’ civic innovation program, which is the largest in the country, has encouraged and led to the development of a number of new apps by the community
- 5:34 – The BigApps competition aimed to find solutions to affordable housing, connected cities, civic engagement, and zero waste
