About Us
Our Goal
New York is home to some of the world’s top researchers and technical talent, but city agencies do not have an easy way of tapping into that expertise. The Pitchfest aims to close that gap, harnessing the talent of New Yorkers to help the City implement more effective and evidence-based programs and policies.
Our Vision
Effective local government is the foundation of thriving communities. By increasing access to expertise from civic society, we hope to help the city increase its capacity to improve community well-being. And by helping local experts get more civically engaged, we hope to create a crop of future “policy entrepreneurs” who will make positive change.
The History
2022: The Mayor and Governor of New York convened the “New” New York Panel—a coalition of civic, business, and academic leaders—to help New York City recover from the pandemic. One of the Panel’s core initiatives (Initiative 31) was to “make New York the global hub of urban innovation.”
2023: New York City Economic Development Corporation and Cornell Tech published Pilot: New York City, a detailed plan to deliver on Initiative 31. Pilot: New York City contemplated a new matchmaking program to help pair academic researchers with city agencies.
2024: The Pilot Pitchfest was launched as a trial matchmaking program housed at Cornell Tech, with funding from the Sloan Foundation. The first year focused specifically on matching the city’s built environment agencies with STEM-focused academic research teams.
2025: The Pilot Pitchfest spun out into a project hosted by the Social Science Research Council. In its new form, it will include all city agencies and all academic disciplines, and both research and technical assistance projects.
The Team
Cara Eckholm
Director
Brandon Luebbehusen
General Manager
Nikhil Jain
Advisor
About SSRC
The Pitchfest is a project of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). For 100 years, SSRC—a New York City-based non-profit with global reach—has provided the policy and philanthropic communities with access to the social and behavioral scientists working to innovate and evaluate scalable solutions to pressing societal problems. We support scholars around the world, generate new research, and partner with policy makers.
The Judges
Grant decisions will be made by a judging pool composed of New York City agency partners, the Social Science Research Council, and representatives from local and national philanthropies, including the Sloan Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Arnold Ventures.