About the Pitch Session
Nashville Metro Departments are invited to give brief pitches on specific tech challenges they face. Each pitch will be three
minutes long. The event is an informal forum to receive feedback and find collaborators for a pilot project—one that helps bridge the gap between academia and the city. Focused on mayoral priorities, the ultimate solution will focus on solving a real-world problem in Nashville through technology.
Attendees
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Metro Departments
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Middle Tennessee university faculty
Eligibility
All university faculty from the Middle Tennessee area are welcome to attend. If you have questions regarding eligibility, please contact the Alliance.
When & Where
Time:
2:30–4:30 p.m.
Location:
Operation Stand Down Tennessee, Community Room
1125 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203
THE PHASES
There are three phases to the Tech Studio. This first event is intended to be an informal forum to receive feedback and find collaborators on a project.
PITCH
October 22
Metro Departments are invited to give brief pitches on challenges their Department faces.
(3 minutes)
Middle Tennessee academic partners are invited to participate. There will be ample networking time.
MATCHMAKING
November–December
Following the event, the Alliance will support matchmaking by connecting Department officials and interested researchers.
These potential teams will continue discussions to refine project scope.
SEED FUNDING
January
Teams will be invited to submit proposals for seed funding. Any Greater Nashville academic institution can submit a proposal for up to $40,000, with up to 2 awardees announced. Proposals must include a Metro Department partner.
We expect awards to be announced in Spring 2026.
THE PITCHES
DEPARTMENT
Codes & Building Safety
CHALLENGE
Metro codes serve a diverse customer base, and non-English-speaking customers represent approximately 40% of their interactions at the zoning help desk.
RESEARCH QUESTION
How can we provide real-time interpretation for inquires related to the technical aspects of building codes and zoning ordinances?
DEPARTMENT
Codes & Building Safety
CHALLENGE
Metro Codes has a large volume of permits it reviews annually—approximately 13,500 permits.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can we make our plans review and permits issuance more efficient using automation?
DEPARTMENT
Department of Health
CHALLENGE
In TN over 10 people die per day from a drug overdose, and while we have life-saving treatment, many don’t know how to use it.
RESEARCH QUESTION
How can we make a simple, easy-to-use tech-based module that teaches the public how to properly use Narcan?
DEPARTMENT
Family Safety Center
CHALLENGE
Family Safety Center staff support thousands of survivors converting oral accounts into written narratives, with a strain on capacity.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can technology be used to streamline both voice-to-text conversion and analysis of documents to highlight specific criteria more efficiently?
DEPARTMENT
Metro Nashville Police Department
CHALLENGE
Police staff analyze large volumes of incident data, and leveraging technology could help identify patterns more quickly to enhance public safety.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can we leverage technology to identify trends that make our city safer and solve crimes faster?
DEPARTMENT
Metro Nashville Police Department
CHALLENGE
Camera analytics that isolate footage for search criteria could allow for potential evidence in crimes or locating missing people faster.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can we use non-facial recognition technology or other emerging technology with privacy concerns to locate people or evidence more efficiently?
DEPARTMENT
Metro Waste Services
CHALLENGE
Explore innovative solutions to turn discarded glass into different types of resources. Specifically, finding new ways to explore chemical or mechanical processes to repurpose glass beyond traditional recycling.
RESEARCH QUESTION
How can we turn discarded glass into a resource for our city while also contributing to overall waste reduction?
DEPARTMENT
Metro Waste Services
CHALLENGE
Waste stream auditing is an effective way to measure waste management efficiency, but current processes involve a lot of manual labor and are time intensive.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can we use automated technology to streamline and ensure the accuracy of waste audits?
DEPARTMENT
Metro Waste Services
CHALLENGE
Nashville’s downtown area faces a current challenge for trash and recycling collections: how to navigate tight and congested urban spaces.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can we use technology and pneumatic tubes to navigate tight and congested urban spaces when removing waste?
DEPARTMENT
Nashville Department of Transportation
CHALLENGE
Misuse of the curb (double parking, improper parking) results in congestions and safety concerns.
RESEARCH QUESTION
How can we automate detection of improper use of the curb to identify potential solutions and to notify parking enforcement?
DEPARTMENT
Nashville Department of Transportation
CHALLENGE
High pedestrian traffic times cause lines that make safewalks unsafe in front of certain establishments.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can we develop a tool to monitor these lines and identify a solution to support safe operations?
DEPARTMENT
Nashville Department of Transportation
CHALLENGE
Traffic congestions is a growing challenge, with increasing travel time delays.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Could NDOT use existing and future LiDAR detection systems to better inform traffic management systems to be more responsive to existing system needs in real time?
DEPARTMENT
Nashville Department of Transportation
CHALLENGE
Metro Nashville PD needs additional information to provide real-time and predictive information of Lower Broadway between 1st and 5th to ensure the safety of pedestrians due to high traffic.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can we develop a higher level of automated decision support systems to provide predictive and real-time recommendations to stakeholders?
DEPARTMENT
WeGo
CHALLENGE
Ensuring traffic light timing can support buses staying on schedule is in motion, but WeGO is seeking ways to measure effectiveness.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Can we integrate location data and traffic signal data to measure effectiveness of traffic light timing?
AGENDA
–2:45 p.m.
2:30Check-in
2:45 p.m.
Opening Remarks
Welcome
Colleen Herndon, Assistant Director, Metro Nashville Information Technology Services & Tech Studio Partner
City of Nashville’s Opportunity
Kristin Wilson, Chief of Operations and Performance / OEM, Nashville Mayor’s Office
Benefits of Partnership for Academia & Deploying Real World Projects
Abhishek Dubey, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University School of Engineering
Pitch Process & Today’s Event
Colleen Herndon, Assistant Director, Metro Nashville Information Technology Services & Tech Studio Partner
3:05 p.m.
Pitches
Codes & Building Safety, 2 pitches
Department of Health, 1 pitch
Department of Transportation, 4 pitches
Family Safety Center, 1 pitch
Metro Nashville Police Department, 2 pitches
Metro Waste Services, 3 pitches
WeGo, 1 pitch
4:05 p.m.
Closing & Post-Event Process
Colleen Herndon, Assistant Director, Metro Nashville Information Technology Services & Tech Studio Partner
–4:45 p.m.
4:10Networking
QUESTIONS?
Contact us with any questions.
Steve Lopez, Mayor’s Office of Performance Management, steve.lopez@nashville.gov
Colleen Herndon, Metro ITS, colleen.herndon@nashville.gov
Cara Ince, Nashville Innovation Alliance, info@nashvilleinnovationalliance.org