IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Can San Francisco’s Startups in Residence Program Scale to Smaller Cities?

There are ways for jurisdictions without big city budgets to bring startup energy to the challenges they face.

San Francisco Chief Innovation Officer Jay Nath
Many leading cities across the country have developed formal programs intended to inject the energy and ideas of technology startups into government operations. These two-way exchanges also offer the private sector the unique opportunity to develop an understanding of public-sector challenges from inside the halls of government. One notable effort is San Francisco's Startup in Residence program, an outgrowth of its 2014 Entrepreneurship in Residence program, which now enjoys grant support from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The federal funding is specifically pointed at helping San Francisco expand the concept to smaller jurisdictions nearby. At the State of GovTech event held in October, San Francisco Chief Innovation Officer Jay Nath talked about how cities in smaller population categories can benefit from similar partnerships with local entrepreneurs.  

Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.