The City of Syracuse will collaborate with three technology companies through Startup in Residence, a program connecting technology startups with governmental agencies across the United States.

Adria Finch, Syracuse’s chief innovation officer, said the three companies — Camino, Vite Labs and Zivics — will develop technology to solve specific challenges facing the city.

Camino will simplify the application process for building and construction permits. Vite Labs will create a crowdfunding system to provide loans to low-income residents, and Zivics will develop an app to reduce the rates of violence in the city through increased community engagement.

San Francisco’s Office of Civic Innovation created Startup in Residence, known as STIR, in 2014 according to the program’s website. The program invites startups to resolve challenges identified by government offices around the country.

“Syracuse has a lot of problems, and we can always use help solving them,” Finch said. “We’re trying to think creatively about how we can leverage the community and the resources here to help us be more effective in governing and operations.”

Finch said the innovation team proposed as many as 15 problems they hope to solve, but ultimately shrunk the number after considering their financial and technological feasibility.

A review committee assessed the proposals submitted by dozens of applicants before selecting the three chosen startups, Finch said. Zivics is the only local company of the three startups. Camino and Vite Labs are both based in California.

Nate Levine, one of Camino’s co-founders, said the company chose to participate in STIR because it was already developing technology to improve the permit application process and was looking for a city partner.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Syracuse,” he said. “They seem to be a very forward-thinking city. They have wonderful staff working there, and it’s been a lot of fun partnering with them so far.”

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Luke Kim, chief marketing officer at Vite Labs, said his company hopes to establish a first-of-its-kind loan system in Syracuse. Kim said the system would be a “token economy,” which rewards residents for contributing money to a social cause in the city.

The donated funds would be added to a pool of money distributed to residents struggling with housing instability, Kim said. The funder receives tokens that function similar to coupons and redeems them for various incentives, including parking ticket forgiveness and lowered property taxes.

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Adam Peruta, president of Zivics and assistant professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said his company will use technology it previously developed for campus engagement apps to better connect city residents and government personnel.

“The mission is really to change the fabric of civic discourse and community interaction by engaging citizens and community members through this activity-driven experience,” Peruta said.

Peruta said these activities could include events where residents are invited to speak with city officials or participate in a city cleanup. Participation in these events would reward app users.

Zivics is developed the app with the Trauma Response Team, an organization that responds to violent events in the city. The TRT could use the app to promote events, such as vigils for homicide victims, or to deliver public safety alerts and warnings after a violent event, Peruta said.

The ultimate goal of the app is to help reduce the rates of violence in the city by making residents more engaged and active members of their communities.

“It’s going to be a process,” Peruta said. “This is more about us bringing something new to the table, putting something else in the city’s toolbox to try and solve this problem.”

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Finch said the work of these three companies is intended to directly benefit Syracuse residents.

“If these solutions do what they’re intended to, people will actually be able to feel meaningful change,” she said.

Published on February 10, 2019 at 10:00 pm

Contact Gillian: gifollet@syr.edu