Civic Bridge

Partner with us to work on City challenges

Civic Bridge is all about working across sectors to co-create solutions for the City. If your company or university wants to volunteer with City staff on important projects, let us know! Submit the interest form below and explore what it means to be a Civic Bridge partner.

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“Golden Gate Bridge” by Riley

Case studies

Improving rideshare access

SFMTA collaborated with ZS Associates to streamline the compliance process and make it easier to monitor ridership trends and performance. 

Using user-centered design to streamline the bidding process

The Office of Contract Administration (OCA) and Zendesk partnered to understand the bidders’ pain points and lay out recommendations for a more streamlined bidding process.

Creating an online affordable housing portal

The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) and Google’s design team transformed an in-person, paper-based application process into a one-stop, online portal, DAHLIA.

Reaching those most in need: Adobe Maps user experience

The Department of Children, Youth, and their Families (DCYF) and the Adobe team worked together to map online and mobile communication strategies. They built a framework to better collect feedback from community members.

Know your rights: Rent Board helps San Franciscans rent smarter

San Francisco’s Rent Board and the Civic Consulting Alliance created a user-friendly website featuring answers to frequently asked questions about City rent ordinances in easy-to-understand language. Learn more.

Additional case studies

 

Read more case studies here.

Mayor London Breed on Civic Bridge

In this video

Mayor London Breed recognizes the important work of Civic Bridge. Our program is based on the fundamental idea that we are better, together.

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Transcript:

I'm San Francisco Mayor, London Breed, and I'm so excited to recognize the important work that you're about to embark on through our Civic Bridge program!

Civic Bridge is based on the fundamental idea that we are better together; that there are people working inside of government, as well as outside of it with the drive and skills to make our city a better place to live work and play. By putting these people together and directing them to work on problems that matter to the residents we can come up with the solutions and learn from each other during the process.

Civic Bridge is about impact; it's about getting things done and producing results. It's about solving tough problems better and faster. The problems that you are taking on are urgent and important. You are tackling how we can improve street cleaning efforts, create access to services for our most vulnerable residents, and improve how our city responds to medical emergencies.

Thank you to all the City staff and partners for your dedication and energy, and your commitment to making our city more collaborative, inventive, and responsive so that the residents can feel the difference.

 

View transcript

How Civic Bridge works

For private-sector partners

For private-sector partners

We offer a 16-week program for private-sector volunteer teams and City Departments to work together.

1. Sourcing: We work with City Departments to scope impactful projects.

2. Matching: We work with private-sector partners to match them with the right projects.

3. Recruiting: Our partners recruit employee teams to volunteer part-time for 16 weeks on their matched project.

4. Working together: As part of the Civic Bridge cohort, volunteers work with City staff to design and develop solutions.

5. Driving civic impact: Project teams deliver a solution that improves public services and builds up City capacity.

 

For academic partners

For academic partners

We also have a semester-by-semester or full academic year program for university students and City Departments to work together.

1. Sourcing: We work with City Departments to scope impactful projects.

2. Matching: We work with universities to match them with the right project and timeline.

3. Recruiting students: Partners recruit student(s) to work on the matched project. Their work may be used for a capstone project.

4. Working together: Student(s) work with City staff on the project to design and develop solutions.

5. Driving civic impact: The team delivers a solution that improves public services and builds up City capacity.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve my community! It was a new challenge, and an experience I will always remember. I loved working with and learning from the City and community orgs.  - Salesforce volunteer

Civic Bridge resources and past work

Downloadable resources

Board of Supervisors Civic Bridge resolutions

About

The Mayor's Office of Innovation empowers a more collaborative, inventive, and responsive government for San Franciscans. We work with City Departments, Community Partners, and residents to drive impact on some of the City’s biggest challenges.

Departments

Mayor's Office of Innovation