On February 16th nearly 100 city analysts packed a room in City Hall for Mayor Edwin Lee’s inaugural Data and Innovation Awards. In November, Mayor Lee sent out a call for the most innovative and data-driven projects City and County employees had completed in the last year. More than 60 submissions were received for the six award categories.
We are proud to announce the winners and show off their presentations in full. The presentation skills on display are something else.
Award Categories
- If you love your data set it free!
- A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!
- Data Cruncher
- Mission Impossible
- User’s First
- Bridge Builder
If you love your data set it free!
Made innovative use of open data 
For the category ‘If you love your data set it free!’ the award went to Ethics Commission for their work on the Campaign Finance Dashboard. The Ethics Commission took traditionally difficult to access campaign finance data and made it accessible via a stylish, creative, and engaging dashboard.
Team:
- Steven Massey
- Eric Willett
- Jarrod Flores
- Shaista Shaikh
- Frances McEvoy
- Jack Cannice
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!
Produced a beautiful and effective data design or visualization 
For the category ‘A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!’ the award went to the Planning Department and Department of Public Works for their work around EveryTreeSF. These two departments collaborated to create EveryTreeSF, a census of street trees in San Francisco. This census will provide the building blocks for developing a long-term plan for maintaining San Francisco’s trees.
Team:
- Anne Brask
- Jon Swae
- Gary Chen
- Carla Short
- Ken Qi
- Chris Buck
- Ken Wysocki
Data Cruncher
Involved data analysis and number crunching 
For the category ‘Data Cruncher’ the award went to the Controller’s Office for their work around the Pit Stop Program. They created a rigorous and replicable analytic process for identifying locations that are most in need of a Pit Stop station, ensuring that City resources are used efficiently and effectively.
Team:
- Joe Lapka
- Claire Phillips
- Peg Stevenson
Mission Impossible
Got creative and innovative with a difficult problem 
For the category ‘Mission Impossible’ the award went to the Human Services Agency for their work on GetCalFresh. In partnership with Code from America, HSA streamlined the benefits process for residence via GetCalFresh.org.
Team:
- Tiana Wertheim
- Leo O’Farrell
User’s First
This project made use of Human Centered Design 
For the category ‘User’s First’ the award went to SF Environment for their multi-lingual websiteredesign. They employed a User Centered Process to redesign and develop their website, making it more inclusive, inviting, and accessible to residents who live in San Francisco.
Team:
- Zoey Kroll
- Donnie Oliveira
- Mark Nicholas
Bridge Builder
Involved successful collaboration with different departments or external groups 
For the category ‘Bridge Builder’ the award went to the Planning Department, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and the Public Health for their work on the Central Market/Tenderloin Data Portal. By creating the Central Market/Tenderloin Data Portal, these departments brought about collective impact and better collaboration and coordination in the Central Market/Tenderloin neighborhood.
Team:
- Megan Wall Shui
- Paolo Ikezoe
- Andrea Nelson
- Juan Carlos Cancino
- Mimi Tam
- Max Gara