Innovation

San Antonio Innovation

Innovation

R&D League

R&D League: Answer the Call

R&D League Mission

The League will create cross-sector, multi-disciplinary teams that utilize scientific methods & data to investigate new ideas, facilitate evidence-based policymaking, and explore the frontier of innovation for our 1.5 million residents.


R&D League Program

Operating from the City of San Antonio’s Office of Innovation with two dedicated City staff members, the R&D League was formed in January 2020 when the City of San Antonio, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the University of Texas at San Antonio, and USAA signed a 3-year Memorandum of Understanding to commit to a cross-sector research partnership to investigate new ideas, make evidence-based decisions, and explore the frontier of innovation.

In its first three years, the League has hosted multiple events to gather input from the community and collaborate on objectives. San Antonio’s brightest academics, engineers, designers, practitioners and residents came together to learn about technology, data, challenges and opportunities for the League to explore critical areas including mobility, environment, public safety, housing, health, and the digital divide. 

In 2021, the City of San Antonio established a Master Research Agreement with UTSA to facilitate and accelerate research with dedicated resources to increase connectivity between city employees and UTSA researchers for projects benefiting residents of San Antonio.

The R&D League partners have collaborated on over 30 grant submissions with 6 awarded to date. The League has also launched 13 projects that explore solutions to city challenges.

To foster research collaborations between academic and scientific researchers with City departments, the R&D League launched the Research Partnerships Portal, which shares City-identified challenges in an effort to connect with academic and scientific researchers who have the knowledge and methods to help us find evidence-based solutions for these projects.

Project information can be found below and on the Research Partnerships Portal.


Founding Organizations

City of San Antonio
SwRI
UTSA
USAA

R&D League Leadership

R&D League's leadership consists of core leaders, senior advisors, project leaders and fellows that provide experience and expertise across various disciplines. This group leads teams that research and collaborate to help meet the R&D League vision for innovation.


Sectors & Disciplines Represented to Date

Cross-sector, multi-disciplinary teams are key to the League's success. The following departments and organizations have participated in one or more R&D League projects.

City of San Antonio

  • 311
  • Animal Care Services
  • Aviation
  • Communication & Engagement
  • City Clerk
  • City Manager’s Office
  • County Clerk
  • Economic Development
  • Government Affairs
  • Human Resources
  • Human Services
  • Information Technology Services
  • Metro Health
  • Military and Veteran Affairs
  • Municipal Court
  • Neighborhood & Housing Services
  • Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
  • Office of Historic Preservation
  • Office of Innovation
  • Office of Sustainability
  • Parks & Recreation
  • Planning Department
  • Public Works
  • San Antonio Police Department
  • San Antonio Public Library
  • Solid Waste Management
  • Transportation
  • Workforce Development

University of Texas at San Antonio

  • Carlos Alvarez College of Business
  • Kleese College of Engineering and Integrated Design
  • College for Health, Community and Policy
  • College of Liberal and Fine Arts
  • College of Sciences
  • Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Office of Legal Affairs
  • Office of Research, Economic Development, and Knowledge Enterprise

Southwest Research Institute

  • Applied Sensing
  • Automated Driving Systems
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Connected Powertrain
  • Critical Systems
  • Cyber Physical Systems Security
  • Defense & Intelligence Solutions
  • Environmental Assessment
  • Fluids Engineering
  • Hydrogen
  • Integrated Corridor Management
  • Intelligent Systems
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Power Generation
  • Transportation Technologies
  • Water Management

USAA Labs & USAA

  • Corporate Responsibility
  • Digital Solutions
  • Employee Membership & Innovation
  • Legal
  • Property & Casualty

Other University, Private & Community Partners

  • City of Houston
  • City of Seattle
  • City of Tulsa
  • disABILITYsa
  • Incapsulate
  • Kennesaw State University
  • Phin
  • Salesforce
  • Senior Planet- Older Adults Technology Services
  • South West Texas Border Network Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
  • Texas A&M University San Antonio
  • The Policy Lab @ Brown University
  • The University of Washington
  • US Digital Response
  • UT Austin Center for Transportation Research
  • VIA Metropolitan Transit
  • What Works Cities: Behavioral Insights Team

Resources & Roadmap

Year 4 Projects In-Process 

  • Evaluating the Urban Heat Mitigation Potential Cool Pavement Pilot
  • Urban Heat Islands Mitigation with Cool Pavement
  • Military Spouse Employment Analysis in San Antonio
  • Improving Equitree Program Uptake Assessment
  • Rheaply Digital Exchange Platform Pilot
  • SAPD Community Immersion Program

Year 4 Projects Completed

Year 3 Projects

Year 2 Projects

Year 1 Projects

2022 Press & News

2020-2021 Press & News

R&D League Executive Panel

R&D League Executive Panel with Mayor Nirenberg, UTSA President Eighmy, and SwRI President Hamilton.

 

2nd Annual R&D League Symposium Talks

Day 1

Day 2


Distribution List Sign-Up

To receive notifications, opportunities and reports from the R&D League, please sign up for our distribution list.

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