New York City Economic Development Corporation
HR&A transformed NYC BigApps from a public dataset promotion platform into the world’s largest civic tech competition addressing pressing urban challenges. Leading comprehensive redesign and management for New York City Economic Development Corporation across 2014-2015, we secured over $500,000 in sponsorship, produced 22+ events, engaged 250+ collaborators, and awarded $225,000 in prizes to teams creating lasting solutions like Heat Seek and Benefit Kitchen.
NYC BigApps required strategic repositioning to evolve beyond its original mission while maintaining its valuable brand among civic technologists and attracting global tech companies as sponsors. The program needed to align with evolving City policy priorities and ensure emerging products addressed real needs identified by New Yorkers and City agencies. HR&A’s redesign approach involved extensive outreach to participants, sponsors, and stakeholders to develop a program plan focused on specific civic challenges, supplemented by high-profile public events, educational programming, and interactive web platforms that engaged tens of thousands of participants.
The transformed competition successfully engaged civic technologists around major initiatives, including affordable housing, zero waste, and Internet of Things deployment, working with more than 50 City agencies and civic experts. BigApps 2014 received 117 submissions across Live, Work, Learn, and Play categories, while BigApps 2015 attracted 110 submissions focused on lasting civic impact. Many prizewinning solutions continue operating, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness in generating sustainable civic innovation. Development of a sustainable program model enabled a successful transition to Civic Hall Labs management, ensuring BigApps continues advancing civic technology solutions. The program redesign established a replicable framework for civic tech competitions that balances innovation goals with practical community impact while building lasting collaboration between government, technology sector, and civic organizations.
