How to move pilot projects to permanent programs

Source: Smart Cities Dive by Danielle McClean, Senior Editor

Officials from Frisco and San Antonio, Texas, as well as the New York Public Library system, shared the challenges they face when transitioning trials to reality, and strategies to overcome them.

City leaders often test innovations through pilot programs. Even when pilots successfully achieve their stated goals, scaling them into full-time programs can be difficult.

Smart Cities Dive caught up with Jason Cooley, chief innovation officer for the city of Frisco, Texas; Garfield Swaby, vice president of information technology at the New York Public Library; and Julia Murphy, deputy chief sustainability officer for the city of San Antonio, at the annual Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo near Washington, D.C., this week.

These three leaders shared their thoughts on the biggest challenges they have faced in advancing pilots to permanent programs and their solutions to overcoming those barriers.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced in advancing innovative projects from a pilot to a permanent program?

Jason Cooley: The biggest challenge is trying to identify the pilot that actually works in your city and determine its success, said Cooley. Pilot projects do not always meet their stated goals.